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Book T^ 3 



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ARMAGEDDON. 



31 }Dotm. 



Arm. 



ARMAGEDDON. 

IN TWELVE BOOKS. 



BYTHE nffltry. 

REV. GEORGE TOWNSEND, B. A. 

OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 

THE FIRST EIGHT BOOKS. 

<£auAoi [xev ovv rj/teTj ye, wg irep\ ryhixourtov Xeyovreg, xu) jroXy t«o 
TrpQtrtjxoVTos evheecTepot, ra he irpa.y\u*.Ta. ov QoiuXa. irnrep wu Xe^ofj^ev. 

* Dion. 





LONDON: 

PRINTED BY A.J. VALPY; 

tooke's court, chancery lane. 

SOLD BY J. HATCIIARD, BOOKSELLER TO THE QUEEN, 
190. PICCADILLY. 

1815. 



^33 



r." ' ■ ■ 



...» ,. 



©etitcatton* 



TO HIS GRACE 

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. 



In the Poem of Armageddon, which I have now 
the honor to lay before your Grace, my great 
object has been, to represent the God of Nature, 
as the God of Christianity ; to unite his myste- 
rious dispensations with regard to Man, with his 
government of the Universe ; to reconcile his 
Justice and his Love ; to show the reasonableness 
of Christianity, and the necessity of obedience to 



VI 



the divine law. 1 submit to your Grace, not a 
system of Divinity, but the speculations of Fancy 

■m 

within the regions of Truth, delighting itself with 
the elevating contemplations connected with our 
future existence. 

So fully do I feel the imperfections of my at- 
tempt, both as to the plan and execution of the 
work ; that, not even with the sanction of your 
Grace's distinguished name, could I have ven- 
tured to give it to the Public, had I not considered 
myself bound to subdue every anxious feeling for 
its success, and make every effort to gratify in 
some degree the curiosity excited by my late re- 
vered friend Mr. Cumberland ; who had been in- 
duced to take the unusual step of publishing some 
account of my projected work, to rescue me from 



Vll 

the possible charge of plagiarism, the degrading 
imputation, under which he had himself unjustly- 
labored. 

Praise is the anticipated reward of every intel- 
lectual exertion ; in the benevolence of his heart, 
Mr. Cumberland bestowed it on me certainly too 
abundantly, and prematurely : but I fervently hope 
that any deficiency on my part may be imputed 
to the true cause, my own inability to support a 
subject, under which the greatest mental powers 
must inevitably sink. My talents were neither 
equal to my own ambition, nor his zeal to serve 
me. How truly happy should I now be, could my 
Friend correct, improve and polish my work ; but 
the tongue that encouraged and praised me is si- 
lent; the hand that welcomed me with rapture is 



Vlll 



cold ; cold as the heart that would condemn me for 
thus publicly declaring how much I love his mem- 
ory, and venerate his name. To the many obliga- 
tions and acts of kindness shown to me by Mr. 
Cumberland, I have to add the honor of an intro- 
duction to your Grace ; and while I gratify my am- 
bition in being allowed to inscribe my Poem to 
You, I comply likewise with the repeated wish of 
my departed Friend, who knew and appreciated 
your Goodness. The spirit of the present age con- 
demns not only the adulation once thought essen- 
tial to a dedication ; it will scarcely endure the 
just tribute of praise to acknowledged excellence ; 
to this feeling I unwillingly submit : Your 
Grace would rather deserve, than receive, the 
praises of any man. I cannot say to you, what 
all delight to say of you, and I am silent, there- 



IX 



fore, on those virtues, which, while they form the 
most brilliant gems in your Coronet, must not 
be mentioned by him, who has the honor of 
subscribing himself with gratitude, and respect, 
your Grace's, 

Most obedient, obliged, 
and very humble servant, 

GEORGE TOWNSEND. 






Arm, 



3fntroi>uctu>n. 



Having ventured to form a new Theory of the Universe, 
as the foundation for the Machinery of the following Poem, 
and to adopt some opinions, which may appear novel to the 
generality of readers ; it may be necessary to divert their 
attention for a short time from the work itself, to relate the 
train of thought that led me to the plan of Armageddon. 

I. It originated in an attentive consideration of those 
passages of Scripture, that relate the ascension of the AIcs- 
siah ; He was taken from the earth in a bodily form, as 



Xll 

Enoch and Elijah had ascended under the former dispens- 
ations of Providence, and was received into Heaven. The 
most usual significations of the word Heaven are, the air, the 
firmament, and some illustrious state above the firmament, 
the abode of more perfect beings than ourselves, where the 
glory of the Deity, though extending generally through all 
his world, is more immediately, and openly manifested. It 
is most probable that our Saviour ascended into the latter of 
these ; and still continues there, promoting by his office as 
Mediator the object of his advent on Earth, the Redemption, 
and future happiness of Mankind. 

II. The conviction that the declarations of Revelation 
are as much entitled to implicit belief as the demonstrations 
of science, is the most effectual means to secure us against 
error in every enquiry of Reason, or effort of Fancy. An 
opinion has of late years been silently gaining ground among 
many, who profess themselves the admirers of Science and 
Philosophy, that the Stars are boundless in their extent, and 
eternal in their duration ; and the discoveries of the telescope 



Sill 

have been supposed to support this opinion : but if the 
glorified body of the Messiah still exists in some remote part 
of the Universe, distinct from the stars, it is certain that the 
heavenly bodies cannot be continued to infinity ; and if they 
are bounded on one side, they may be bounded on another. 
The hypothesis, therefore, that I have ventured to adopt 
from this supposition, is, that the whole space filled with 
Stars is inclosed by Heaven above, and by Hell beneath, 
and incircled from East to West, by the place appointed for 
the judgment of Mankind, the scene of the last contest be- 
tween the powers of good and evil ; to this ideal circumfer- 
ence I have appropriated the name of Armageddon. 

" What is God's Universe ? One spacious orb, 
(The Centre, Star-filled space,) on all sides round 
Boundless : the kingdom of the Heavens above 
Shines in the Glories of the Immediate God ; 
Beneath, in all its terrors, flames the World 
Of Hell ; and round the Stars from West to East, 
The realms of Armageddon : — oft on wing 



XIV 

Swifter than light, our venturous forms have dared 
The roaring gulphs, and sought in vain an end : 
All is Infinity ! the Heavens above 
To endless distance spread j this Hell beneath 
Unfathomable ; and Armageddon's wastes 
On all sides boundless : God alone through all 
Extends — Eternal — Infinite — Unknown." 

Arm. b. iii. p. 109. 1. 16. 

Many various significations have been assigned to the 
word Armageddon : it is found in the book of Revelations. 
Grotius supposes it to signify the mount of meeting, and to be 
used in this sense with reference to the battle between Con- 
stantine, and Maxentius : Drusius in the Critiei Sacri trans- 
lates it the destruction of armies : Parkhurst renders it the 
Mount of Megiddo, a place celebrated for scenes of slaughter, 
and many of the great battles recorded in Scripture. 
Newton interprets it the mountain of destruction ; modern 
Authors have made it refer to the last battle between the 
Roman Catholic and Protestant armies, in which the former, 
after long and dreadful contest, shall be overthrown : — others 



XV 

have supposed it to be the place where the infidel power of 
France shall be utterly broken, in opposing the Christian 
World. I have not thought of using the word in any of the 
above interpretations ; but any of them is in some measure 
descriptive of the action of the Poem ; for as the cause of 
truth must triumph on earth, so will the powers of Heaven 
triumph over the powers of Hell : The contest on Earth is 
expected to take place at Armageddon, near J erusalem, 
and with reference to this notion, I have appropriated the 
word to the imagined theatre of the events I have attempted 
to describe, the condemnation of the wicked, and the de- 
struction of the armies of Evil. 

III. If the stars are thus bounded, there must be a cen- 
tre to the space they occupy : .this centre will be either mere 
distance, or a solid mass ; the latter idea has been adopted : 
the stars, each surrounded by its own planets and comets, 
are represented as moving in constellations, and clusters or 
collections of constellations, round this central World, with 
a rapid, though to us imperceptible flight. If the stars are 



XVI 

arranged through the deep in masses, distinct from each 
other, each star may move round the centre of its own clus- 
ter, and those clusters move round the central World. Na- 
ture is never at rest. From analogy we cannot suppose that 
the stars are immoveable in the heavens ; the Sun, with its 
known and unknown planets, may be revolving round the 
undiscovered centre of its own cluster, comprising the con- 
stellations we see about us : and thus every star through the 
whole range of strata is in motion, proclaiming to the superior 
Intelligences, who observe at will the mechanism of the Uni- 
verse, the magnificence and Divinity of their supreme Cr&» 
ator. 

IV. When the mind was lost in the wide field of being, 
thus opening to its contemplation, another consideration 
forcibly arrested attention. He, who is the infinite Soul, 
and Lord of the Universe, having made nothing in vain, we 
may reasonably suppose, has not created the innumerable 
systems around us, to spangle the blue skies with barren 
grandeur : may we not therefore conjecture that ewery star 



XVII 

and every planet are filled with beings, as much the objects 
of the love of the Deity, as the human race ? God sees at 
one view, and governs by one exertion of his Power, the 
Zodiacs of other Clusters, and the Equators of other Sys- 
tems : for what purpose then have the inhabitants of the 
Earth, an inferior planet to one of those stars, been so highly 
distinguished by Omnipotence, that for them the Messiah, 
the Creator, and Preserver of the World, should have become 
incarnate. Why is Man thus honored by the Deity ? Why 
so elevated in the scale of Creation ? He is not left to the 
unassisted efforts of his dark and arrogant reason : Revel- 
ation, assuring him of a divine origin, and a future destiny, 
has been imparted to him by the immediate interference 
and Providence of his Maker. Without Revelation, he had 
been but the first of animals, cunning, grovelling, and 
defenceless, blind and imperfect, ignorant and presumptu- 
ous : Lord! what is Man, that thou shouldst be mindful of 
him t or the Son of Man that thou so rcgardest him ? The 
cause assigned to solve this Phenomenon must be consistent 
both with reason, and Christianity : and T have ventured to 
Arm. c 



xvm 

suppose, that this planet is the only spot among the works 
of God degraded by moral evil ; and that Revelation and 
an Atonement were necessary for Man alone. If he only, of 
all the Beings that crowd the world of stars, has sinned ; how 
conspicuous is the divine Mercy ; — how great the goodness 
of his Maker ; — how well suited to his wants and infirmities 
the system of Christianity ; — and how truly does Revelation 
promote the real happiness of the human race, wherever ks 
holy influence has been imparted. 

V. From these contemplations, the mind unavoidably 
turned to the Question of the Origin and formation of the 
Universe. Every System of Cosmogony is attended with 
insuperable difficulties, that startle reason, and confound ima- 
gination ; and on such points we must speak with tear and 
submission : the Philosophy of the Platonists, and the cold 
theories of the present day, would persuade us that the world 
is eternal. Omitting both the plausible and absurd arguments 
usually adduced to defend this opinion, it is sufficient to say, 
that whatever is eternal must necessarily be self-existent, and 



XIX 

unchangeable: the slightest alteration, therefore, occasioned 
by the change of Seasons, the career of a comet, the disturb- 
ances of the Planets, or even by Whirlwinds, and by Earth- 
quakes, are irrefragable proofs, that there must have been 
some beginning to the material Universe ; if there was no 
God at the helm, Eternity would have produced other effects 
on the World, than what at present exist. God only is eter- 
nal, self-existent, and immutable : and as the lawgiver must 
have existed before his laws ; (however the mind may tremble 
at the idea of a solitary God ; an Omnipotent without action ; 
a Creator without a Creation) there must have been some 
remote and indefinite period, when the measured revolutions 
of time first obtruded on the infinite of that Eternity, which 
the mind of man cannot comprehend — " the Eternity that 
has gone by." Revelation has not discovered to us the first 
effusion of creative Power : but when the appointed time was 
come, the Earth, the Planets, the Sun, and the stars around us, 
were commanded to exist. Every object of sense, or reason, 
must have proceeded from God ; and every system of the 
World's eternity is inconsistent with belief in that Iking who 



XX 

is independent of the Universe he governs ; who is still Om- 
nipotent, though every Sun be extinguished, and every off- 
spring of his power cease to live. God reigned alone before 
the borders of the World stood, or the innumerable company of 
Angels were gathered together. 

VI. Imagination, if guided by caution and judgment, 
may endeavour to picture to itself the order in which the 
Deity acted in the creation of the World : the pattern of the 
Universe must have been ever present to his pervading 
Mind. I have supposed the first act of the Omnipotence of 
God to have been the Creation of Heaven, the residence of 
the more peculiar manifestation of his Glory. His Omni- 
science perceived that no being but himself could be abso- 
lutely perfect, (perfection being an attribute of God only) 
and a place of punishment was next prepared for those who 
x should depart from their Allegiance : between these opposite 
Worlds of Happiness and Misery, Chaos was commanded 
to roll, partly occupying that portion of infinity, in which 
the stars now move : for not even Chaos, though supposed 



XXI 

to be the origin of the material Universe, could have been 
eternal, (Eternity being another attribute of God only) and 
if created, it must have been created for the accomplishment 
of some purpose. After the Creation of Heaven, Hell, and 
Chaos, the defection that had been foreseen took place, and 
the followers of evil were consigned to the darkness prepared 
for them. In my endeavour to answer the question, what 
was the object of the Deity in thus creating the stars, I have 
adhered to the traditions of the Jews, and the inferences 
apparently deducible from Scripture : I hope I am sanctioned 
by these Guides in supposing, not only that the Earth, but 
the whole number of the Suns around it, were created and 
filled with Beings, to be received, after sufficient probation, 
into the presence of their Maker, in the room of the offending 
Angels; if they escaped the allurements, and temptations to 
( evil, to which all created Beings were equally exposed. 

VII. When the object of the creation of the World of 
Stars is accomplished, there is no necessity for their continued 
existence: the Stars may be extinguished in utter darkness; 



XX11 

the whole space they occupy may be filled with their ruins; 
the least of their inhabitants who possesses an immortal and 
accountable soul is of more consequence in the designs of a 
ruling Providence, than the whole collection of inanimate 
matter. Such desolation we may not unreasonably conject- 
ure, though permitted by the Deity, would be undertaken and 
accomplished by the powers of evil : guilt must be eventually 
banished from the moral Universe ; but as it has so long and 
so successfully opposed a supreme Being, so long alienated the 
Creature from the Creator, is it not possible that the last con- 
test for pre-eminence between the Angels of Heaven and resi- 
dents of Hell should be more severe than any they have 
yet waged with each other? I have supposed that when the 
inhabitants of the stars have been removed, the powers of 
darkness are not controlled in their attempts to ruin the 
order and beauty of the material Universe : the destruction 
of the World would consequently be their act ; and I have 
represented that destruction, as beginning with the burning of 
the Earth by a column of Fire, attracted from the surface of a 
Comet launched from its orbit and guided through the Solar 



XX111 

system by supernatural effort, till the planets are disturbed, 
and the grand laws of order and attraction broken. The 
splendor of the starry Heavens is eclipsed ; and all the 
Suns, and constellations, inclosed by the wide circle of 
Armageddon rush together in inextricable confusion, 
forming a mass of fire on the central World, till nothing 
remain of the glories of the firmament : the beings who are 
saved rest in happiness ; the condemned continue with the 
powers of evil, who are vanquished by Omnipotence, without 
hope or consolation ; Chaos is commanded to resume its 
first seat, forming an impassable gulph between the realms 
of happiness and misery ; the dispensations of Providence, 
that decreed the wonderful formation, preservation, and de- 
struction of the stars, are completed, and Time is lost in 
Eternity. 

VIII. The Demons who undertake to destroy the beauty 
of the material Universe, may be justly represented as pos- 
sessed of a perfect knowledge of the nature of Man. 
What description would an unearthly being give of the 



XXIV 

pursuits and character of Man, as an individual, as a 
member of society, or as collected into families and 
states ? How would he relate the rise, and fall of Empires ; 
the history of Nations ; the intrigue, the ambition and all 
the strange inconsistencies of human life? We can only cor- 
rectly imagine this feeling when we cease to be interested ; 
when our present feelings, opinions, and passions are no more ; 
when the employments of Manhood and age shall appear to us 
in another scene of existence, as the trifles of childhood, to the 
perfect maturity of wisdom and experience. I shrink under 
the attempt to relate the strange mixture of admiration, con- 
tempt, and pity, such a being would entertain for mankind : 
but in his survey the important event of the Millenium could 
not be omitted. I have here endeavoured to reconcile the 
jarring opinions of the ancients and moderns in the short 
description I have attempted of that wonderful period. 
Like many other topics, not entirely revealed, it involves 
great, almost insuperable, difficulties. I believe the account I 
have given to be scriptural, as far as I am able to understand, 
by the assistance of various interpreters, the figurative Ian- 



XXV 

guage of that mysterious book, which perhaps will never be 
fully understood in this life : for those prophecies that refer 
to history are explained by the event, but besides these the 
Apocalypse refers to a future state, into which we must be 
summoned before we can perceive the full completion of its 
predictions.. There are many subjects we must only hope to 
understand in another World, for this short state of life 
is the infancy of an existence, always approaching, though 
never attaining to perfection. 

Some apology is necessary for the frequent mention of our 
own great and good Country : but as the history of a King 
is the history of a Nation, so is that of Britain the history 
of the World : the consequences of the part for instance we 
have acted in the late contest, and may be required to act 
in the present crisis, may be productive of greater and more 
lasting happiness to Mankind, than any other event merely 
human, recorded in the annals of any Nation. 

IX. When the Millenium is past, the general Resurrection, 
Arm. d 



XXVI 

- 
the Judgment of Mankind, and the burning of the Earth, 

begin the consummation of all things. When the battle of 
Armageddon shall be decided by the overthrow of the 
powers of Evil ; when the stars have been blotted from ex- 
istence, and Chaos, again rolling between Heaven and Hell, 
shall form the impassable gulph, that neither the wing nor 
reason of Angels shall pierce ; — When the Messiah shall have 
seen his desire upon his enemies, the triumphant Hierarchies 
of Heaven that surround him, returning from the contest of 
Evil and the convulsions of the Universe, shall ascend to the 
portals of their heavenly home, and invoke the Cherubim 
within to open the everlasting doors, that the King of Glory 
may enter : He, with his Angels and Archangels, with all 
the Company of Heaven, and the Spirits of the Just made 
perfect, presenting before the Throne of his Father the il- 
lustrious assembly, shall resign the mediatorial kingdom ; 
then, ascending to the right hand of God, he shall reign a 
King for ever, in equal Majesty, Divinity, and Power, the 
object of the praise, the gratitude, and worship of all created 
Beings. This is not fancy ; this is not vision : rational, ac- 



xxvn 

countable, and immortal, we are destined to some higher 
state, where the spirits of the great and the good of all ages 
shall assemble in the presence of their Maker ; shall know 
and be known, and participate in delightful communion 
with each other : the unerring finger of Religion points to the 
future, as the only consummation of the happiness of Man. 
There is a World where the Mysteries of Providence, the 
difficulties of Philosophy, the secrets of Nature, and the 
depths of Science, shall be all laid open : where neither preju- 
dice shall mislead, nor pride pervert us : where error shall 
not kindle her taper, and call it the sunbeam of truth. No 
distrust shall separate, no envy, jealousy, or any baser feel- 
ing, shall find place in that high Society : the anticipa- 
tions of reason, and hope, and revelation, shall be abundantly 
gratified : the fond friendships of this world shall be revived 
in the mutual and unbroken intercourse of all we admire 
and love. — The utmost elevation of Soul ; realities of hap- 
piness beyond imagination ; all that the eye hath not seen, 
or ear heard; all that is meant by the Song of Gratitude, the 
Palm of Victory, the white Robe of Innocence, the Crown of" 



XXV111 

Glory, and the Throne of Majesty, shall be understood and 
enjoyed. Breathing after Immortality, and ardently expect- 
ing the future, the bright prospect shall not fade ; the con- 
templations of Christianity shall not pass over the mind, as 
the dreams of the morning to die from the memory, and be 
forgotten for ever. He who would be happy must be a 
Christian. These are the anticipations of his Religion, sum- 
moning him from the follies, the monotony, and frivolity of 
the World, to prepare for his future destiny in a glorious 
immortality. 

X. I have most anxiously exerted myself to avoid any 
thought that may appear inconsistent with che Truth of re- 
ceived opinions : whatever be the success of my attempt, it 
has been its own reward : on a calm review of the pleasure 
accompanying the pursuit of a favorite object ; of the nature 
of the subject, in compelling me to think of the events most 
interesting to the human race ; and a happy recollection of 
the studies to which it compelled my attention, I cannot 
consider the time devoted to its completion thus far, as en- 



XXIX 

tirely lost : the love of Poetry, that best, most enchanting 
art, must seldom be my relaxation, never my employment ; 
it has long been resigned for pursuits and occupations, more 
serious, more important, and more useful. 

Should this attempt, however, not entirely fail, I shall 
devote my leisure to its completion, and take an early op- 
portunity of publishing the remaining four Books, with 
Notes upon the whole Work. 

April, 1815. 



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35! 








; 


; ■ • 



Arguments 

OF THE 

FOUR LAST BOOKS. 



ARGUMENT OF BOOK IX. 

The Battle of Armageddon. 

The armies engage— during which time, Satan attacks the Saints, who are pro- 
tected by a supernatural wall of fire, enclosing them on all sides — The general 
battle — the acts of Jediel and others — Contest of Satan and Michael, who, relying 
on his own strength, is defeated — The boundary of Armageddon is broke, and 
admits the light of the stars — the battle continues, till the Angels are defeated— 
Satan leads his army to the very gates of heaven. 



ARGUMENT OF BOOK X. , 

The Defeat of Satan's Army, 

■■■■. ' ■ 

Satan invokes Death to complete the destruction of the Angelic Host — the 
Demons attempting to enter Heaven are repulsed by the power of the Spirit to the 
place where mankind were judged — their condemnation pronounced in the presence 
of the Messiah, and his saints — Speech of Satan — The rocks of Armageddon di- 
vide — their fall through the stars — the different feelings excited in the two armies 
at the appearance of the burning earth — the demons pursued to hell, where Sin 
awaits their approach — the damned curse them as they descend. 



\ 



* ARGUMENT OF BOOK XI. 

The binding down of Satan, 

Satan lingers at the gates of hell, till his pursuers appear — his soliloquy — the 
angels arrive — Asiel endeavours to console Satan — Ezbon reproaches him — Mi- 
chael triumphs — Satan is silent — his dreadful overthrow — Sin falls with him — the 
Angels retire — Speech of Satan — Prayer of Michael — the angelic host command- 
ed not to approach nearer hell — the fire increases — the rocks melt — Curses of the 
demons — darkness descends from above, and veils the infernal regions from the 
view of the Angels. 



ARGUMENT OF BOOK XII. 

The Consummation of all things. 

Return of the Angels to Armageddon — Messiah, when they arrive, commands 
that Armageddon should inclose the stars — the destruction of Creation — Messiah 
ascends to heaven — All created beings adore the Eternal — the guardian angels 
resign their charge — Christ gives up the Mediatorial Kingdom, and ascends into 
the brightness of the Father's glory — the Deity approves the past — and declares 
the consummation of all things to be completed. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



IBook t&e jririeft. 



A rm. A 



argument. 



The Poem opens with a commission to the Angels to bear up the In- 
habitants of Earth, and of the surrounding stars, to Armageddon, 
the seat of Judgment — Address to the Moon — last evening of 
Earth— Asriel declares Time to be no more, and commandg 
the dead to arise — general resurrection — the dead ascend to Arma- 
geddon — the living are changed, and follow them— they meet the 
inhabitants of other worlds in their flight — the Heathen inquire what 
is to be their fate— answer of the Angel — arrival at Armageddon- 
description of the place of Judgment— Messiah descends from hea- 
ven with his Angels— he commands the Angels to separate the good 
from the bad — the good are placed on his right hand— the wicked 
on his left — their despair — sentence pronounced on each — prayer 
of Adam — the wicked are borne away by the assembled demon*. 



&rmaget>toon. 



Ere Time intruded on the silent reign 

Of vast Eternity ; or yonder stars, 

That roll their splendours thro' th' immense of space, 

Were called to being by th' Almighty voice ! 

In primal majesty of light enthroned, 

The Godhead ruled ; and thou, at his right hand, 

Spirit of Wisdom, Prophecy, and Truth ! 

Coeval reign dst, and bad'st Creation live 

Exulting in its beauties, till the hour 

That Desolation whelm its burning orbs 



6 

In fatal ruin : Oh ! inspire my song, 
To sing that day, the Judgment of Mankind, 
And all surrounding worlds among the wilds 
Of Armageddon's Plains, where God shall meet 
Th' assembled myriads, and pronounce their doom ! 
Pour thy divine irradiance o'er my soul ! 
Forsake me not ! tho' language fail to clothe 
The scenes, that pass as visions on the mind, 
And fade away, as heaven's resplendent bow 
Dissolving melts among the parting clouds : 
But guide my youthful flight where'er I rove 
Throughout unseen existence, and the "World 
By man unsung, by Seraph wing unsoared. 

Declare how Time and Nature had fulfilled 

Their destined course" ; when Heaven's eternal King 

Revealed his will to Asriel, the blest Power 

Who near the throne had kept perpetual watch* 
And of th' Almighty mind the secret signs, 

Untold to others, viewed ; nor was it given 



To Cherubim, or Seraphim, to solve 
The mystery of God's fore willed decrees, 
The fixed, th' impenetrable, stamp of fate : 
The mandate Asriel knew, the high behest 
Received, and to the listening hosts exclaimed, 
Princes, and Cherubim ! ethereal sons 
Of your Creator's will, our Father's word 
Omnipotent has passed, that from your ranks 
A well-selected embassy proceed 
To every planetary sphere, that bends 
Reluctant round its sun ; where'er the globes 
That sweep the gorgeous fields of light profound 
Adorn the blue expanse, and speed their course 
Harmonious, from their azure mountains, bear 

Th' unnumbered sinless beings that shall hail 
Their glorious God rejoicing : chiefly ye, 

That watched o'er that degraded orb, where sin 

And death debased the high-born habitants, 

To Earth descend ; and with angelic voice, 

The trump of God, rouse the whole race of man 



8 

To wait their Saviour's near approach, amid 

Those distant regions of remoter space, 

That bound the realms of Nature, and the gates 

Of these blest mansions ; solitary, waste, 

Dark, wild, and desolate, which hideous night 

And banished Chaos occupy, since God 

With mighty voice, had hurled them from their realms, 

The boundless plain that Seraph foot ne'er trod 

Of Armageddon : there convey Mankind ; 

There shall the Judge of men, the Quick, the Dead, 

Appear, and our assembled hosts shall see 

That awful day when God shall meet his worlds, 

And reconcile his Justice and his Love. 

He said ; and forth, in radiant order ranged, 
A shining band of Cherubim obey 
The mandate ; girt with panoply divine, 
Refulgent, splendid, beauteous, on they come, 
Not as before, invisible to those 
Whose paths they guarded, and whose hearts they read : 



9 

For round our daily toils, our midnight rest, 
Angels for ever wait unseen, protect 
Our falling steps, attendant ministers! 
With high commission gifted from above ; 
Angels remark our bosom crimes, and grave 
The painful record on th' eternal book 
With tears of sorrow; Angels note our deeds 
Acceptable, and wing with purest joy 
Their speedy way, exulting, when they see, 
As erst in Paradise, Mankind renew 
Their ancient concord with their parent God. 
Angels attend the dying bed, sweet peace 
They whisper to the trembling breast, and calm 
The restless sufferer ; and, when the soul 
Bursts from its earthly tenement, convey 
The raptured spirit in their glad embrace 
Swift to Jehovah's throne, and joyous name 
The new possessor of their mutual home, 
Friend and companion in immortal bliss. 
Not thus invisible, but in their own 

Ann. B 



10 

Celestial, and primeval glory clad, 

Afar they beamed " intolerable day " 

Throughout the concave frame ; as down from heaven's 

Self-moving portals, each pursued his flight, 

Entered created space, and saw the world 

Of stars, that shone with all their flittering train 

Of countless spheres : one moment on the shore 

That bounds the realms of Nature, all the hosts 

Survey Creation's ample fields ; and quick 

Disparting, each to his appointed orb 

Flew diverse, and compelled its wondering race 

To that sublime ascent ; while to the Earth 

The god-like cherub hasted, with the train 

Of chosen seraphim, until afar 

Revolving silent round its orient lord, 

This pendent ball, its lands, and seas appeared, 

A shining atom in the wide expanse ! 

The golden sun from Europe's lovely plains 
Declining, decked th' Atlantic's purple wave, 



11 

And shed upon Columbia's Western coast 

The vernal dawn ; when, on the downward side 

Of the still globe, the silver Queen of Night 

Arose in full-orbed lustre, and began 

Her path majestic thro' the blue serene, 

And threw her silver light o'er half the world, 

With wealth, and pomp, and vanity, adorned, 

The fading pageants of unpeopled states, 

And mouldering empires: Oh! what fearful scenes 

Of horror, thro' thy long continued course 

Of twice three thousand years, hast thou beheld, 

Pale sovereign of the night ! thy peerless rays 

Have played in transient softness, o'er the mass 

Of dark and raging tempests, as they lashed 

The sounding shores ; have seen them vex the deep 

With hurricane, and swallow in th' abyss 

Of maddening waters potent fleets, that rode 

In stately majesty above, and seemed 

To conquer Ocean! thou hast tinged the surge 

Thai closed the space of their descent, and howl; 



12 

A louder roar, big with the dying shrieks 

Of the wrecked Mariners, who turn to thee, 

A sad farewell, despairing look and drown. 

Thou, when gaunt Famine, Pestilence, and War, 

Have swept with fevered wing the groaning lands, 

The wealth of nations, and the pride of states, 

Mid all the terrors of the thundering bolt, 

And midnight lightnings, flashing thro' the clouds 

Of heaven ; amid the battle and the storm, 

Thou, unconcerned, hast held thy stately course, 

And, heedless of an agonizing world, 

Poured thine expanded beams alike on all ! 

Now, doomed thyself to ruin ! thou, pale moon ! 

Torn from thy monarch Earth, shalt leave thine orb, 

And hurl thy broken fragments thro' the sky, 

To rest upon the Comet's burning mass, 

When, guided by the demon arm, it bends 

Its flight resistless thro' the solar way. 

Oh ! thou hast risen on the last night of Earth, 

That, hushed as midnight murderer approached, 



13 

And found tho' long foretold the human race 
Yet slumbering o'er the plans of future days, 
Unfit, and unprepared to meet their Judge 
Eternal : all things in their wonted train 
Continued ; passion and debasing vice, 
Pale guilt, and error, luxury and pride, 
Bewildered still the millions of mankind ; 
Youth hoped continual spring, and roved at will 
In fancy's gayest dream, o'er many a flower 
Of future pleasure, and of lasting love, 
Expecting cloudless suns, and spotless joys, 
The Paradise of life : there manhood pined 
For glory and renown, and seemed to climb, 
As fair imagination smiling traced 
His way, the mountains and the hills of fame : 
Dim age, with tottering step, and wrinkled brow, 
Awoke to ponder o'er his useless stores : 
So pleasure, fame, or riches, sport with man 
Till the last hour ; unnumbered follies still 
Degrade him ; some with cursing dared blaspheme 



14 

The coming God ; some, drunkenness, or lust, 

Loud riot, murder, or revenge, engaged ; 

While few in calmest contemplation wooed 

The lore of mild philosophy, or strung 

To elevated themes the sounding lyre, 

Or sought in science-page the laws of God : 

Some round an aged parent's dying bed, 

Attending, drop Affection's pious tears, 

Nor knew their souls united should ascend 

From Earth ! th' oppressed, the sorrowful, and sad, 

Implored, in silent prayer, relief, now doomed 

To rise where care intrudes not ; where th' unjust 

Shall cease from troubling, and the weary rest. 

The boasting Infidel, that owned no God, 

No Judgment, Hell, or Heaven, now conscience-struck 

Shall see the just rewarded, those whose life 

He deemed the worst of madness, and their end 

Devoid of honor; now with dread beholds 

Their glorious immortality begin, 

As starting from his sleep he shuddering views 



15 

The world in terror, and with fainting heart 

Hears the pale sinners' first the saints' last prayer 

For mercy ! every mortal bosom beats 

With fear and trembling, save the Christian soul ; 

These saw the globe convulsed, the sun concealed 

In darkness, and the demons, and the host 

Whose power-girt arm should tear them from the Earth, 

And waft their wondering spirits beyond the sun, 

And tranquil smiled in peace ; their hope was fixed 

On him, whose promise stands, tho' worlds shall fail ! 

Now o'er the regions where the pensive Moon 
Her light displayed, the cherub host appeared, 
Dividing the blue air; and every Fiend 
In silence gazed, as Asriel winged his way 
In tempest through the sky ; till on the ground 
And on the sea resting his burning form, 
His hand he raised to heaven, and sware by Ilini 
That ever reigns, the great, th' Almighty God ! 
" Time is no more ! Arise, and burst your graves, 



16 

Ye slumbering children of the Holy One, 

And gird the robe of incorruption round ! 

For lo ! the Morning of the tomb's long night, 

The spring that ends the winter of the grave, 

Is come ! Ye guardian spirits ! protect, and guide, 

Your own selected sons, as Earth and Sea 

Shall pour their tenants forth : the vine is ripe ; 

Ye reapers, gather in the clustering grapes ! 

The wine press is prepared ! ye winds of heaven, 

Breathe your sweet influence o'er th' awakening dead ! 

Breathe, spirit of God ! at thy command they rise ! 

Time is no more ! heirs of immortal bliss, 

Wake from the sleep of death, Arise ! Arise ! " 

The pause of life was fearful ; -as the voice 
From every rock and mountain, hill, and plain, 
And wilderness, and ocean, echoing wide, 
Alike suspended hope, and joy, and fear, 
Ambition, love, and hatred, and the thirst 
Of gain, the pride, and wants, and cares of man : 



17 

The sun was changed to darkness, and the moon 
To blood ; while, mid the war of elements, 
Despairing Death his final victim seized, 
Grasping with fainter hand his sceptre-dart, 
Pining for future prey, and veiled his head 
In thickest night beyond the solar path. 
The guardian angels of mankind attend 
Around the silent graves, where slept the dust 
Of those their care protected from the birth, 
Thro' all the changing scenes of life, till Death 
The suffering mortal claimed : th' infernal tribes, 
Roused from the world of spirits, joyful hoped 
To wrest from angel-wings the souls of men, 
Ere borne to Armageddon's plain they heard 
Their sentence passed, and, glimmering in the night 
Of Nature, loud-exulted in her wreck. 

Now, from her chequered surface, softly rose 
A thickening mist, as Earth resigned her stores 
Of all that once was human; from tin- drv 

Ann. C 



18 

And barren wilderness, from mighty depths 

Of either Polar sea, where never breath 

Of heaven had blown upon a freighted bark, 

The drifted and neglected atoms soared : 

The lofty mounds that raised by savage hands 

Concealed their slaughtered dead ; the moss-grown cairns, 

The sacred temples, the forgotten tombs, 

Where in oblivion slept the deluged world, 

With rocks, and vales, dissolved, and crumbling join 

The gathering cloud of life : while, from the ground, 

As every atom sought its former mate, 

And all the good in radiant beauty rose, 

Immortal and complete, a murmuring sound, 

Louder and louder swelling into tones 

Of deepening thunder, broke : " We come ! We come ! " 

It seemed to say ; and back from Pole to Pole 

Echoed the sound, as from the dying mist 

The wondering beings shone : the same they stood 

In substance, shape, and dignity : alike 

In splendor and in glory : every form 



19 

As if of amber flame appeared, begirt 
With shining robes of heaven : and on the head 
Of all the smiling millions, that possessed 
The purer Faith, and died in peace with Him, 
Whose blood alone can save, a beaming: light 
Celestial lustre shed, the spirit's dread seal 
In this great day, when all the heirs of bliss 
First meet, to part no more ! and, with the Just, 
Rose, as a spot upon the face of heaven, 
The self-condemned ; the living trembling saw 
The Earth dissolve beneath their feet, o'erspread 
With darkness, that dispersing, as the dew 
Before the morning sun, revealed the forms, 
Seen, heard by all, but, as the light, unfelt. 

Now, all the new-born sons of man, restored 
To Earth, await their Judge ; then the bright train 
Of hovering angels thro' the fields of air 
Bear up the mighty host, in order ranged 
Of every generation, from the sire 



20 

Of man, unto the parting soul that left 

Its mortal clay, and joined the rising dead : 

A vast, overspreading canopy of flame, 

A radiant atmosphere of fire they shine 

To all th' astonished living, as they cast 

A farewel glance to Earth ; till with the sky 

Their purer and etherial forms they blend, 

And, slowly lessening, die upon the view. 

And, as the last of that celestial band 

Was seen no more, again the pealing trump 

Was heard, to call the living to their doom, 

And meet their Saviour-Judge ! the listening Earth 

Seemed as one ear to catch the awful sound, 

And in a moment, ere the e} r e could close 

In terror at the voice, All, All were changed ! 

The corruptible form was clothed upon 

With incorruption, and the mortal wore 

The robe of immortality ; on high, 

By arch-angelic power upborne, they soar 

The glittering way, and join their wondering sires. 



21 

The silent globe its wonted course pursued ; 
The seasons held their sway, and day and night 
Continued ; and the birds their sweetest song 
Trilled softly, grateful to the opening flowers, 
Wafting their perfume o'er the lonely woods ; 
And winds and waves obeyed the sovereign voice, 
That gave them motion first : Man, Man alone, 
The potent Monarch of this lower realm, 
Torn from his empire, sought a nobler state ! 
Man from the regions of the Earth had flown, 
And the sun set upon a desert World ! 

High with their seraph guides th' immortal race 
Pierce through the concave orient, and the dark 
Cerulean sky that bounded once the ken 
Of mortals ; through the star-paved galaxy, 
That like a brilliant girdle, bossed with gold, 
Hung on the breast of heaven ; through every sphere, 
By Fables, or by Fancy named, whose light 
Had traversed through the empty shores, and beamed 



22 

Upon the rolling Earth : thence to the suns 
Of distant regions, whose unfailing rays 
Had never struck upon the gaze of man, 
Or on the stars he sees ; and still beyond» 
Where flame the orbs amid the blue expanse, 
That Fancy oft hath soared with daring flight, 
Whence weak imagination back recoils, 
With all her weary powers, they wing their way 
Th J o'erwhelming and immeasurable height, 
The depth and blaze of being, mind nor tongue 
Can fancy or describe, until the day 
Ourselves shall burst the barriers of the grave, 
Soar the sublime ascent, and to our view 
The flaming boundaries of the stars appear. 
Oft from the worlds around them, frequent pass 
Their sinless and unnumbered habitants, 
As meteors rising to th' inquiring eye, 
Alike conducted by Cherubic guides 
In radiant legions, who their fellows hailed 
In welcome salutation ; star to star, 



23 

The echoing harmony prolonged, of songs 
That Angels only knew ; and, on the ear 
Of favored man, immortal rapture poured, 
Anticipating heaven ; mild as the voice 
That calmed th' abyss upon Creation's day, 
And breathed the breath of life upon the void 
Of Chaos ; listening the celestial strain, 
The Heathen tribes, with hope and joy inspired, 
In faltering accents ask their future doom : 

" Spirits of Peace !" they said, " what mighty Power 
I lath rent the solid Earth, and called us forth 
To second consciousness of new-made life, 
Clad in these gorgeous and refulgent forms, 
Begirt with light ? Say, are our visions true ; 
Is there another world, where we shall live 
To die no more ; there ever to enjoy 
The presence of some Deity, whose name 
On Earth we knew not, but whose power we feel ? 
Or why, all-glorious beings ! soar we now 



24 

Through these surrounding orbs ; shall we ne'er rest 

The wonders of his love to contemplate, 

And, in communion with some former friend, 

Admire the God ?' or, do ye raise our souls 

To some mysterious theatre, beyond 

The realms of Nature, where the Lord of All 

Shall meet us ? Spirits of life ! why soar ye still, 

And whither do ye bear our winged souls ? 

Why wave o'er yonder forms those cloven flames ? 

Whence are your mighty Powers, tremendous Guides 

■ 
What are ye, speak ; we dare not look on God I" 

" Heirs of Eternity !" the Angels said, 
" The God that called you from the silent grave,- 
Is just and merciful ; his sovereign sway 
All Nature owns, his Name, his Love is great ; 
Above the Gods ye worshipped, Odin, Thor, 
Or Jove, or Eastern Bramha ! 'twas his word 
Created this vast Universe, and Man, 
And stamped on each his wonders ; and hath raised 



25 

The souls he made ! now to another world 

We soar ; where you this mighty Lord shall meet ; 

Him, whom the Grecian sage desired to view, 

The holy Being who the truth revealed 

To mortal minds ! Him, shall the Brahmin see, 

The true Incarnate ; and the Persian sage 

Shall worship Him who gave his God the sun 

The fount of morning light ! while Northern tribes, 

No longer dreaming of Valhalla's Halls, 

Or Odin's triumphs, prostrate at the feet 

Of Israel's King, confess the source of Truth ! 

And we, the spirits commissioned from his throne, 

Though ignorant of his councils, act his will, 

Rejoicing ; and partake his holy love 

"With all the ransomed good, above whose forms 

The cloven flames appear, and mark the sons, 

The favored, and the grateful sons of heaven ! 

And (hough on you rest not the Spirit's light, 

God will not claim obedience to the laws 

The Heathen never knew ; where much is #iven, 

Arm. D 



26 

There, and there only, much shall be required ; 
Nor will He claim what his own hand denied 
To mortal man ; though all who heard the Truth, 
And wilfully despised his sacred word, 
And spurned his offered mercy, He consign 
To pain unceasing, in the Hell below, 
Prepared for those who hate him : Fear not ye, 
Nor shrink appalled, nor tremble ; God is Just ! 
Nor did his will create the human soul, 
And bind that soul in ignorance, to condemn 
Its darkness, and to triumph in its woe. 
The virtuous heathen, who the natural law, 
Engraven upon the hearts of all, obeyed, 
Some separate kingdom in th* eternal World, 
Among th' unnumbered mansions of the heavens, 
Shall share, where God his presence shall impart, 
And manifest his glory ; there to rest, 
Full of his love ; there to imbibe the streams 
Of living knowledge, and refine the soul, 
Advancing in perfection, till their hopes 



27 

Their end attain, the bosom of their God. 

Then, fear ye not! to meet your sovereign Lord, 

Hither our flight we bend ; the day is come 

That Heaven, and Earth, and Hell, before their King 

Appear ; and all the mysteries of God 

Revealed, shall speak his Mercy and his Power, 

And Justice, Love, and Wisdom harmonize !" 

They spake : and, to the flaming bounds arrived 
Of star-filled space, survey the outward coast 
Of Armageddon, and its concave orb, 
Reflecting back upon the azure deep 
Th' united light of the deserted Worlds, 
And the last gleaming sun : there, paused at length, 
Th' assembled sons of Earth their destined goal 
Survey, and, entering on the fearful waste, 
Complete their anxious flight : then, loudly rung, 
Throughout the gloom, the summons, that the guides 
Before the throne of Deity appear, 
And join th" angelic Powers, whose arm alike 



28 

From other globes th* inhabitants had raised, 
Announce their great commission was fulfilled, 
And all the beings of Creation wait 
On Armageddon's plain their mighty Judge. 

Swift sped the train, obedient to the word : 
And Man, deserted by their guardian care, 
Stands on the plain of Judgment, to await 
His final doom ; as those, who, wrapt in dreams 
Of horror, wake, and find the vision true, 
And hail in vain th' oblivion of the night, 
To lull the conscious life, and seek the shade 
Of ill, to lose the dread realities 
Of grief and woe ; so, thousands wish again 
The dreams of Earth, t' obliterate the sense 
Of what they were, and hide them from the scenes 
Around ; for, often by th' ethereal light 
Of radiance, by the various Angels shed 
That frequent passed, on every side they view 
What seemed a waste and desolate abyss, 



29 

Embosomed in the realms of Night ; and drear 
And still, as if the banished monarchies 
Of Silence, and of Chaos, had enthroned 
Their empires here, and o'er th' unearthly soil 
Their sceptres wielded, proud, and undisturbed 
By aught of heavenly birth : vast as the orb, 
That circles in its breast the world of stars, 
It seemed ; and desert as if every sun 
Extinct in darkness, blotted from the face 
Of Nature, fell : Angelic power prepared 
The plain, controlled its raging elements, 
And bade the waste be calm ; yet oft the wild 
And fearful motion of the dread domain 
Convulsed the wondering souls ; above, below, 
The rocks of adamant, the deepened gulphs 
Unfathomable, and every yawning mass 

« 

Of mingled waves, and floating continents, 
Rolled their enormous length, from point to point. 
With all the sinless worlds, and Adam's sons, 
Upborne ; as, on the troubled sea, are tossed 



30 

The fleets of man, amid the uproar wild 

Of gathering storms ; and oft th* o'erarching gloom 

Descended and returned, and every rock 

And yawning cave beneath, with slow ascent 

Appeared to meet th' overwhelming shade above : 

There all around, far as th' immortal ken 

Could traverse o'er the dreary space, were seen 

The countless myriads, who, with dauntless hearts, 

And souls unspotted, gazed upon the sons 

Of Earth in silence, wondering at the cry, 

By them before unheard, of grief, and fear. 

And anguish, that from many a bursting heart 

Pierced through th' unbounded deep ; in endless files 

They stood ; serene in native dignity 

Of being, fearless of th' infernal race, 

That to th' astonished eye their hideous forms, 

Above the tribes of man, displayed, and howled 

For vengeance on their heads ; while, as they flevr^ 

The beating of their outspread wings was storm, 

As oft amid the gloom they rose and fell, 



Now half revealed, now hidden from the view. 

Long in their shadowy legions stood the ranks 
Of beings, gathered to await their Judge : 
The clamorous outcry, and the whispered Prayer, 
The piercing shriek, the sigh, the groan, were hushed 
In mournful silence ; one oppressive calm 
Aroused the sleepless horrors of mankind 
To burning madness : Hope, sweet Hope alone, 
In every bosom lingered undismayed, 
Nor left the heart of man till God announce 
His dread command : when through the vaulted arch 
Upborne on fiery wing, an angel form 
In rapid flight was seen ; and swift as thought 
Sped o'er the gazing hosts, and loud exclaimed : 
" God comes to judge the World, and minister 
True Judgment in his righteousness ! the Lord 
Descendeth from the Heavens ! Himself is Judge ! " 
And suddenly a strong and mighty wind 
The mountains rent, and into pieces brake 



32 

The rocks before the Lord, howling aloud 

Through the deep caves : not on the winged blast 

He came, nor on the terrors of the storm, 

Or earthquake, that o'erthrew the yielding plain 

Of Armageddon ; not upon the flash, 

That pouring mid the new-made fragments shone 

Upon the ruins, melting every rock 

Before him : beaming with immortal love, 

The majesty of beauty and the strength 

Of honor, girt with radiance as a robe 

Of light, and glorified in mortal form, 

The opening Heavens he bowed ; descending slow 

Borne on his throne of glory to the scene 

Of Judgment ; streaming fire beneath his feet 

Its nameless splendours waved, yet not dispersed 

The darkness, but its gleaming lightnings spread 

Wide in the front, and darting on the soil 

Revealed the trembling Nations : round the throne 

Th' admiring day-spring knew its place, and threw 

Jn floating lustre a serener light 



33 

Than that of midnight moons ; full o'er his head, 

The high Pavilion bent, with waters dark 

And covering clouds encircled, as the sea 

Blends with the stormy sky at distance seen, 

Girding the Earth; Justice and Mercy shone 

On either side resplendent ; and around 

Ten thousand times ten thousand of the host 

Of Cherubim, and mightiest Seraphim, 

In fiery orbits glowed, with purple light 

The vaulted arch adorn, and pour abroad 

The brightness of their beauty ; Oh ! how grand 

The circling streams of glory ! nor the bow 

That sealed the covenant, nor the rising suns 

Of summer, nor the morning star that glides 

Along th' unclouded azure, can with these 

Compare: they onwards, as dread whirlwinds, rode, 

Painting the spacious concave with their thrones 

Of golden lustre : far through all the train, 

The central light, where the Messiah sat, 

In spiry flame extends, till full-opposed 

Arm. E 



34 

To all th' assembled Worlds, the lofty car 

In ten-fold splendour glowed ; while fiercer blazed 

The lightnings, and the thunder louder rolled ; 

But suddenly the vivid lightnings cease, 

The deepening thunders pause, and all was still, 

For lo ! Omnipotence, appearing, viewed 

The beings of his will : the rebel fiends 

That wait their destined prey, the sons who lived 

Among the worlds he made, and seraph-host 

Obedient in their pomp and pride of power : 

To every heart revealed, sublime he stood, 

Great in his excellence, and every eye 

Beheld, and every knee bowed down to God ! 

Who shall the silence break ? or who be found 
The seals of heaven to open, or unlock 
The secrets of the heart ? Omnipotence 
Himself is Judge ; and from the burning throne 
The Son of God looked forth, while Mercy shone 
With Justice, summoned to approve or curse 



35 

The race of man, and utter the decree 
Of Him th J Almighty ! He, with pitying eye, 
Surveyed ; with outstretched hand, the sceptre raised 
Of love, and spake to the created tribes : 

" Hear, ye assembled Worlds ! ere first ye sprang 
To being, or ere yet the spheres were poised 
That deck the fields of space, the sovereign voice 
Declared the Almighty's will, that every soul 
Should choose the good or evil ; if to good 
Their nobler thought inclined, they should preserve 
The blessings of their innocence, and rise, 
Pure as the day-spring, from the feast of life, 
To highest heaven ; there in the blissful bowers 
Of those celestial mansions taste the joys 
Of sinless happiness, and ever live 
Rejoicing in the presence of their God : 
But, if the paths of evil, then the curse 
Should hover o'er their heads, and fix its sting 
Deep iu their bleeding hearts, the joys of Earth 



36 

To wither, and its baleful poison shed 

O'er the dark current of uncertain life. 

One World alone has fallen ! My Father's hand 

Grasped the red thunder, the offending race 

To strike, but Mercy and his Son were there 

To plead for pardon on their rebel head. 

* On Me/ 1 cried, ' on Me, thy favored son, 

Eternal Parent, hurl thy vengeful bolt ! 

But spare, oh ! spare Mankind ! ' The Father heard ; 

And poured upon Messiah's blameless form 

The sinner's guilt ; and Death's cold finger sealed 

The covenant of Mercy, and the grave 

Enclosed him in her bars of adamant, 

And stern repose : effusing my own power, 

I burst the iron confines, and arose 

Triumphant o'er th' embrace of Death, and Hell. 

Then high at God's right hand I sat to plead 

For Earth's transgressing sons ; invited still 

To gain their forfeit bliss, by Faith and Love 

In me, their friend and Saviour crucified ! 



37 

Now is the day of trial past ; and man, 

In his own form, shall answer for the deeds, 

Committed in the flesh, and shall receive 

The joys of heaven, or pangs of endless Hell. 

Now, by Myself! I swear, not in the death 

Of him that dieth do I delight, or love 

To execute my Father's wrath, or doom 

His World to woe, but Justice cries aloud 

For vengeance, and th' Almighty hears her voice ; 

Let every heart be open to the eye 

Of Men and Angels ; let no vain disguise 

Conceal the truth, but every thought be known. 

Descend, angelic Powers ; from yonder tribes, 

Select th' offending sons ; and bind the tares, 

And separate the wheat, while Justice arms 

Her potent hand, and every sinless race 

In silence view the terrors of a God, 

And grave upon the tablets of their heart 

The solemn wonders of the Judgment day ! 



38 

Oh ! from what agonizing World arose 
That sound of anguish, as Messiah spake 
The high decree ! from Earth, from Earth, it came ! 
To Man the Demons sped, and laughed aloud 
Their hellish joy ; while the obedient train 
Of angels from their thrones in silence flew, 
And wept the last sad prayer of ruined Man : 
" Ye rocks of Armageddon ! hide, oh ! hide 
Our myriads from the wrath of Him, that sits 
On his exalted throne ; Fall ! fall, ye hills ! 
Descend, and shield us from his frown ! Protect ! . 
Oh ! now protect us ! the tremendous day 
Of his eternal anger has begun, 
And who his wrath can stand, or who abide 
The fury of his vengeance ? Lord of Heaven I 
Our unrepented crimes weigh on our souls, 
And cry to thee for pardon ; oh forgive ! 
Who can exist in everlasting flames, 
Far from thy presfence ? Mercy ! Mercy ! Lord ! 



«.< 



9 



No voice that prayer shall answer ! nought remains 
But fearful judgment, and the burning fire 
Relentless to devour the enemies 
Of God for ever ; lo ! the seraph-train, 
Submissive, with impartial care, the sons 
Of Earth beheld ; dividing, as the herd, 
The sheep and goats, the righteous and th' unjust, 
As gazing on the faint, and trembling host, 
Through lucid forms, the bad black heart appeared : 
And, heedless of the tears of friends, or last 
Embrace, upon the right hand, and the left, 
Before Messiah's throne, and all the Worlds, 
The parted Millions brought to hear their doom. 

Now, where the spirits of just men perfect made 
Adoring bend ; with mercy-beaming eye, 
Messiah turned : " Ye blessed from above, 
Blessed of my Father, come ! unformed by hands. 
For you prepared eternal in the heavens 
A Kingdom waits ; there enter, and poflsei 



40 

The joys of God, his pure and lasting bliss !*' 
Then, in his wrath, the fearful curse he spake 
Upon the slaves of sin : the fiend Despair 
High on the left appeared, and met the glance, 
That oft th' usurping Monster had dethroned 
Within the breast of Man ; triumphant now 
He rose, though thrice upon Messiah's lips 
The thunder of his vengeance died away 
Jn Mercy's wonted accents ; thrice he reared 
His arm in vain, till to his Father's word 
Obedient, the dread sentence he pronounced : 
u From God, from Angels, and the light of heaven, 
Condemned to endless woe, with Fiends of Hell, 
Down, down, ye cursed ! eternally depart!" 

Why from yon cloud of glory rise those notes 
Of anguish ? Friends, and Sons, and Parents, weep 
Their sad farewell ; and louder than the rest 
The patriarch Father of mankind was heard : 
" Before thine awful throne, Almighty King ! 



41 

In agony of heart a suppliant bows, 
That, safely harboured from the wreck of Earth, 
Amid the ruin of his helpless sons, 
Entreats thy grace. Let not the Lord of Life 
Be angered with his servant when he prays 
For pardon on his miserable race ! 
By me they fell, the Father of their sin ! 
On me thy fury pour, but spare my sons ! 
See where the Demons, pointing to the flame 
That marks their sire among the heirs of heaven, 
Bid their sad victims curse their Parent ! See ! 
With loudest execrations on my head, 
Fierce in the torture of despair they turn, 
And hurl their loud reproaches on my soul, 
In screams of horror, lost to every hope 
Of Mercy ! Save my offspring from the pangs 
Of Death and Hell ! or, till the storm be past, 
Hide me beneath the shadow of thy wing, 
Oh ! hide me from myself! again, again, 
Their shrieks of torment burst upon my ear ! 
Arm. 



» / 42 

Nor heaven,' nor all its pleasures shall erase 
The deep remembrance of that bitter cry : 
Redeem them from destruction ! stay thine arm, 
Avenging Justice ! spare, oh ! spare my sons !" 

So prayed our great Forefather ; but the word 
Of God is fate ! Messiah veiled his face ; 
The angel-hosts, and every sinless world 
Bent from their seats of bliss, as from the throne 
Eternal Justice reared her awful form, 
In all the majesty of terror enlarged, 
Girt with the shadow of Death, gloomy as Hell, 
Fierce as the wrath of God ; her stature filled 
The vale of Judgment, and the stormy realms 
Of Armageddon shook beneath her tread, 
As on the enemies of God she rushed, 
Scattering her burning arrows round, with fire 
And tempest on their heads ; and reared on high 
The vengeful splendour of her glittering spear, 
Hurling its lightnings, and the second Death, 



43 

With fiery indignation to consume 

Th' accursed ; and instant from the left hand borne 

By all th' insulting Demons, mid the storms 

Of Hell begun, the Damned race arose ; 

Then cowering downwards, in the view of all 

Created beings, banished from their God, 

Cursed with the worm of conscience in their hearts, 

To the dark world of woe beneath, they plunge ! 

Their guardian angels, sorrowing, sighed their charge 

A long adieu ; but none deliverance brought, 

No chariots of salvation, no strong arm 

Relieved them ; sternly from remoter heaven, 

Jehovah, the most Highest, gave the voice 

Of Omnipresence, and approved the wrath 

Of Justice, and his Son : forth from the throne 

Of God's Messiah shone the living beams 

Of glory on th' encircling clouds that veiled 

The joyous Fiends, and edged the sombre shade 

With light, that threw a faint, and parting ray 

Upon the plain, and they were seen no more, 



44 

Save by th' All-present eye ! as when the clouds 
Of summer, swoln with thunder, and black rain, 
Obscure the orb of day, and floating o'er 
Its lordly surface, slowly glide from view 
Below th' horizon : all their gloomy skirt 
With shining lustre tinged, and silver light 
Poured from the sun : so from the Judgment seat, 
In mournful splendour clad, they disappear 
For ever, and for ever, down the gulph 
Of Hell, and unimaginable Night. 



END OF BOOK THE FIRST. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



'JBoofe t&e ^econD. 



Argument. 



The Song of Jediel. 
The blessed ascend, in silence, to the gates of heaven — Elasah, the 
guardian of the stars, commands the angels to select the fathers of 
the sinless woilds, and conduct tliein to Messiah's throne — Ra- 
phael takes the Heathen to a place prepared for them — the fathers 
of the other worlds embrace Adam, who turns to the last of his 
sons — happiness of the blessed, who are called to listen to the song 
of Jediel — character and description of Jediel — His song begins by 
declaring the self-existence of God from all eternity — the creation 
of heaven and of hell — of chaos rolling between both — of Lucifer and 
of the angels — fall of Lucifer, and seven ranks of beings — lamented 
by the angels — Asriel declares God will create other beings, if any 
of the angels will undergo the punishment, should they offend — 
Michael offers — refused — Messiah promises to make atonement — 
Creation of Armageddon — of light — of the stars — Sin enters the 
earth — Messiah atones — prophecy of the consummation of all 
things. 



&rmajgettoon. 



feO from the sight of God, and angels, fell 
The souls of all, that unrepentant left 
The scenes of life : and still the thrilling cry 
Smote on the troubled ear, and high arose 
Their cries of torment, as they downward fled 
To outer darkness ; while the newly-blest, 
With all the sons of bliss, obey the word, 
To leave the scene of judgment, and ascend 
With God's Messiah to the gates of heaven. 

Arm. q 



50 

Then, from his flaming throne of light, appeared 
The chief, appointed on the central world 
To guard the brilliant stars, that wheeled sublime 
As clustering planets gird the sun of Earth, 
Around its vast and adamantine mass. 
O'er all the countless habitants of space, 
Innumerable cherubim, encamped 
At Elasah's command, to read the heart, 
And weep upon the arrogance of man, 
As gazing on an atom of God's works, 
He named the azure round his petty globe, 
The boundless universe : and oft they bowed 
With scorn, and pity, to behold our race 
Engraft their souls upon the dunghill Earth, 
Nor, conscious of their origin, awake, 
"While still their years continued, from the dream, 
The life-long dream, of grandeur, wealth, and power, 
To cast one glance upon the endless age 
Of dark futurity : vain, feeble Man ! 
Whose most enduring grandeur, in the storms 



51 

Of this dull stage of his existence, dies 

From memory, as the lightning's transient flash 

Adorns the thunder-cloud, and melts away. 

Yet, round our heedless paths, their watchful care 

Extended, in submission to the power, 

That knew e'en these imperfect in his sight, 

With folly chargeable, though not with crime : 

" Here, holy, holy Lord ! here, at thy feet," 
He cried, " thine angels pay their homage, due 
To thee ; the Father's everlasting Son, 
Th' omnipotent, the omnipresent God ! 
Lord ! when thy sovereign hand first spread the tents 
Of Nature, and commanded life to rise 
In all its varied orders ; yonder worlds, 
Full of thy majesty of glory, reared 
Their burning orbs ; and, revelling in the day 
Of thine effulgent presence, hailed the morn 
Of rich creation, and the mystic gale 
That breathed upon the slowly- rising mass, 



52 
Th' intelligence of heaven, and man was formed. 
Then, all th' immortals of the golden choir 
Shouted for joy, and raised their loudest songs 
Of melody ; while, o'er th' empyrean space, 
Entranced in wonder, I, thy servant, hung 
On plains of ether gazing, and the sky, 
The temple of thy love : then, did thy word 
Command, that I should tend the host of stars, 
And o'er each being in the fields of life 
Appoint a chosen Seraph, to protect 
The offspring of thy will from guilt, and woe, 
From evil, and the dragons of the deep. 
Here, at thy throne, I render up my trust ; 
Here I resign my powers ; accept the souls 
Thy goodness made ; let not thine anger rest 
On sorrowing Raphael, the earth-guarding chief, 
Whose sphere, disgraced by evil, moved thy wrath, 
In sight of heaven, on this supernal day : 
Accept the mourning parent of mankind 
With all his race, and bless them with thyself, 



53 
Thro' the long ages of eternity ! " 

He spake ; and Adiel to their hosts replied : 
" My Father's will I read, and he approves 
The watchful powers that saved his Universe, 
And raised yon perfect millions to the skies : 
Now your high task is o'er ; embrace the sons 
Of time, your partners in eternal bliss, 
And from their souls the memory of the griefs 
Of life remove; and bid their grateful hand 
Receive the palm, and on their sacred brow 
The golden crown of honour, and the -wreath 
Of glory place : then, from your thrones descend, 
And gird around the panoply of war, 
For good and evil beings soon shall clash 
Their fearless vans impetuous, and shall soar 
Among the pathless billows of the realms 
Of formless matter ; in that dreadful hour 
Let not your hearts be troubled, but believe 
My father's arm will guard you in the strife. 



54 

And thou, repentant Raphael ! from the right 
The Heathen tribes select ; and guide their ranks 
Beneath yon glowing walls, that far extend 
Their chrjstal battlements along the deep, 
Reflecting on the night their meteor-flame ; 
There, o'er the frigid wastes, your journey take, 
Until their lessening portals mark the spot 
Provided for the Heathen ; there the light 
Of God's resplendent brightness sheds a ray 
Upon the scene, adapted to the minds, 
Unfitted yet to share the nobler joys 
Of the first heaven : a wide-extended plain 
Self-balanced, bounded by eternal rocks, 
Impassable, that overhang the dark 
Unfathomable precipice, by wing, 
Or foot, or eye, of all created life 
Untried, unsoared throughout ; diversified 
With hill, and vale, and with Elysian shades 
That court repose, and soothe th' inquiring thought, 
That ever mindful of this solemn day 



Seeks the pure truth, whose perfect light shall dawn 

Upon their souls, advancing in the scale 

Of happiness and knowledge till they rest 

With saints rejoicing at the throne of God. 

And thou, great parent of mankind ! no more 

Bewail thy race condemned, but turn with joy 

To yonder sons of every rolling star, 

And death's last victim of thy Earth ; the pledge 

That Justice' claims are satisfied, that none 

Again shall perish from their Father's sight, 

Safe in the endless mercy of their Lord." 

He said ; and to our ancestor the sires 
Of all surrounding worlds their welcome spake 
Of gratulation ; till consoled, he gazed 
Upon their peerless forms : unwinged, and winged, 
Mild and majestic, of superior grace 
To man, and of inferior ; varying all ; 
Unmoved by passions of our lower globe, 
Pure as the blush of the first morn they seemed, 



56 

Nor did he not admire, ; but to his son 
With fond affection turned, as when a young 
And anxious Bridegroom, in the vernal May, 
Leads to the holy shrine his long-loved bride ; 
While every songster-bird his carol lay 
Sings sweeter, and around him beauty smiles 
And decks the marriage rite ; nor nobler fair, 
Or form, or look attract him ; to his bride 
He, happy bridegroom, turns, and silent basks 
In the warm sunshine of her beaming eye, 
And the soul-telling smile ; so felt our sire 
Heedless of every form, and on his son 
Poured his last tear of agony, and joy 
Of grief, and silent praised his Saviour-King. 

And, now, th' Eternal spirit of their Lord, 
Soft-breathing on the multitudes, refined 
Their wondering sense, and banished all the scenes 
Of sad remembrance of the former life, 
Inspiring heavenly harmony, and power 



57 

To rove as swiftest thought from place to place ; 

With skill the souls of beings to discern, 

And all the nameless, and diviner joys 

The future state to mortals shall assign. 

Then nearer to the throne the hosts approach, 

With angels, and the spirits of the just, 

Whose names were graved on high : not from our sire 

Alone, nor ransomed millions of mankind ; 

From every race of the deserted stars, 

On bended knee aloud the anthem rose ! 

* Son of the Father ! honour, and power, and might, 
Be unto thee, that sittest on the throne 
Of mercy ! 'twas thine arm salvation brought, 
And not ourselves ; not unto us the praise, 
Eternal Lord ! but to thy name be given 
The glory, and the blessing, that redeemed 
Our souls, and brought us to the realms of light 
To die no more ! from Thee, th' unceasing spring 
Of goodness rises \ over all thy works 

A rm. H 



58 

Extends, and feeds with happiness, and love, 
Thy fair creation ; thou renew'st our robes 
For garments of Salvation, purified 
In thine own blood-: no more our suns shall rise. 
Thou art our sun, thy dwelling is with us ! 
And here beginning the continual song 
Of love ! for ever we adore, and praise 
Thee, the Almighty ! Thee, the only God ! ! 

Then, while the heaven with hallelujahs rang, 
Ere yet the echo ceased, before the throne 
Of living flame the cherub Jediel tuned 
His glittering lyre ; and, swift on either hand, 
Th' ethereal hosts disparting, as the sun 
That gilds our azure firmament, alone 
In sight of all, the immortal bard appeared ! 
Among his waving robes th* ambrosial gales 
Of Paradise celestial odours breathed, 
And round his brow serene, and round his lyre, 
A lambent vapour of ten thousand hues 



59 

Played harmless ; down upon the newly-blest 

He gazed, that, gathering near with noiseless step 

Bent, listening to the golden harmony. 

The seraph-tribes paused in their midway course, 

Aroused to deep attention, as they sped 

Obedient to prepare for coming war : 

For oft among the choir his fame was told, 

By one who frequent struck his solemn harp, 

The noble Asmaveth ; with friendly zeal, 

And all a prophet's fire, he hailed the day 

"When Jediel's voice amid the realms of light 

Should sing their great Creator ; him they heard 

Believing, and await th' expected hour. 

Now, trembling, doubting, eager, bending low, 

With faltering hands, he swept the chords, and poured 

In cadence sweet, inspiring melody ; 

As long and loud, resounding o'er the plain, 

Ascending in magnificence divine, 

The varied, and majestic song began. 



60 

' Hear, oh ! ye heavens ! give ear, created worlds ! 
Archangels, kings, and princes of the sky ! 
In silence hearken to the darino; Ivre, 
That hymns the glories of Jehovah's name ! 
God is my theme ! ere Chaos, Heaven, or Hell, 
Or yonder stars, or Armageddon's plain, 
Or man, or fiend, or angel, sprang to life, 
Thou wast ! the Eternal, self-existent God ! 
Great in thy attributes ! all eye, all ear, 
All Action, Thought, Intelligence, and Love f 
By Fate, or stern Necessity uncontrouled : 
AH that duration, all that space contains, 
And every form of things, thy mind embraced : 
Vast as the ocean of infinity ; 
Where time and distance are for ever lost ; 
Unbounded in perfection ; God of Gods ! 
The Soul and Lord of this great Universe ! 
Inspire my heart ! oh teach my trembling tongue 
The first effusion of thy love to trace, 
And lost in holy wonder, sing thy works 



61 

Of goodness, and of grace! Why did thy will, 
Great spirit ! as in thy wonderous self absorbed, 
Thou sat'st alone, call forth material things 
To being, and command their forms to rise, 
And all the varied properties of life, 
And every object of the sense exist ? 
Where did thy works begin ? first-born of God, 
The mansion of immediate glory shone 
The heaven of heavens, obedient to thy power, 
In silent majesty : then didst thou reign, 
Creative parent ! in stupendous thought 
And solitude, on thy mysterious throne ; 
And, while the floods of glory round thee waved, 
Exulting in their being, did thy mind 
Gaze on its sacred self ; and view the ranks 
Of countless myriads, that thy word sublime 
Should call from non-existence to their birth ? 
Thou, Thou alone, great Sire ! in that survey, 
Wast perfect : and Eternal Justice raised 
Her sovereign voice to the coeval God ; 



62 

And at her word, the fearful gulph of hell 

Its unknown vengeance spread, far from th* abode 

Of the concentred rays, where Deity 

More glorious shone : and unsubstantial night 

Governed the dark domain, and with him rose 

Destruction's stormy brow, and silent Fear ; 

While the young form of execrable Death, 

Unconscious of its terrors, smiled for joy 

Amid the rising flames and dreary tracts, 

The sad and painful residence of woe, 

The fathomless, and desolate abyss, 

Where the Eternal in his anger reigns ! 

Thus height, and depth, began, and infant Time 
And distance ; and, between the two-fold worlds 
Of heaven, and hell, th* Almighty word ordained 
That chaos roll ; lest all the embryo ranks 
Of high immortals, bursting into life. 
Should tremble, as they viewed the burning lake, 
And woo their Maker's power again to shrink 



63 

To their unfelt oblivion : then, was seen 

The wild, the measureless, tumultuous deep, 

To fill the solitary space, and lash, 

Wi»h horrid waves, the adamantine base 

Of heaven ; and with pervading sound was heard 

Re-echoing at the gates of distant Hell ; 

While lawless Uproar and Confusion reared 

Their cumbrous bulk, and with Destruction laughed 

Through all their mighty empire, that the reign 

Of primal silence had for ever fled, 

And nought but God and desolation swayed 

The boundless universe : thy will, great Sire ! 

Was spoken, the anarchal monsters fell, 

And Chaos swelled his laboring tides in peace. 

Then, first and fairest of created life, 
Son of the morning, of his Father's love ! 
The radiant, and resplendent form arose 
Of fallen Lucifer : the light of heaven 
In purple waves of glory round him flowed, 



64 

Effusive from the smiling majesty 
Of the approving God ; and mildest joy 
Beamed on his tender brow, and candid youth 
Gave ten-fold honour to the breathing hymn 
Of grateful praise : and all th' archangels heard s 
As brightening to existence, first they raised 
Their floating beauties from the viewless void* 
Collected in gradations infinite, 
In number, and in nature ; each endued 
With energies divine of sense, and mind ; 
In harmony, immortal harmony, 
Entranced, they wonder at their mystic life, 
And turn in silent homage to their God ! 

Son of the morning ! on the fields of bliss 
The loveliest flower ! great effluence of the love 
Of Him, our common Sovereign ! round thy steps, 
In admiration of thy graceful form 
Excelling, gather the supernal host, 
-And celebrate with songs thy day of birth, 



65 

In sweet remembrance of the rapturous notes, 

That trembled on their ear, as forth they rose 

In presence of their God : why did thy soul 

Aspire to emulate thy Maker's power? 

Why vainly dare Jehovah ? and withdraw 

From vows of their allegiance seven long ranks 

Of Cherubim, and Seraphim, arranged 

Beneath thy faithless banner, taught by thee 

To celebrate in blasphemy thy name ? 

Then, was there war in Heaven ! then, first was veiled 

Th' Almighty throne, in anger at the race 

His will had made ; angels began to know 

The pangs of grief: and thunders poured around 

Our vernal plains unusual noise, as Sin, 

Parent of Misery, the sceptre broke 

Of Peace, and Innocence ; but higher strains 

Of minstrelsy, from Raphael's golden lyre, 

Have sung the dreadful war; nor can my song, 

Like his, attempt to tell the varied scenes 

Of contest ; till the great Messiah rode, 

Arm. 1 



66 

Clad in the terrors of his Deity, 

In burning chariots of consuming wrath, 

Full on the rebel Seraphim ; and hurled 

The flames of anger, and destruction forth, 

Swift-darting from the night-encircled orb 

Of glory : through the realms of bliss they fall, 

Seeking the gloom of yon abhorred deep, 

To screen them from the lightning of his eye : 

Grasping th' unearthly rocks, they shrieked aloud 

For mercy, while celestial light dispersed 

The darkness of stern Chaos ; every rock, 

Where'er they clung for shelter in th' abyss, 

Struck with pursuing thunder, spurned away 

Its wretched suppliants, and compelled their flight, 

While Uproar and Confusion claimed again 

Tumultuous rule : down to the yawning gulph 

Of raging Hell, the lamentable seat 

Of woe, insensate, on the boiling waves 

They plunge, that fiercer burning struck with awe 

Their mightiest conquerors, recoiling back 



67 

At the grim form of Care, and wild Dismay, 
And brooding Death, poising his thrilling dart 
In proud defiance : while triumphant Sin 
Called forth th' impenetrable gates to close, 
Loud-crashing on the rebels of the sky. 

Then to the heavens, the great Messiah returned, 
And all the Seraphim ; nor was the sound 
Of triumph, or the shout of victory heard ; 
But silence rather, and remembrance sad 
Of the blest hours of Paradise, when friends, 
Now ever lost, and man} r a power, endeared 
By genial intercourse, in union raised 
Th' adoring melody ; the opening heaven 
Received the mourning victors, but no more 
The sumptuous palaces, or domes of peace, 
Can please ; ' here,' did we say, * the social smile 
Of Lucifer delighted ; here the lyre 
Of Azazel was strung ; here did we rise 
Together, worshipping the face of God 



68 

Enraptured in the songs of mutual praise : 

Remembrance shall endear them to our heart, 

And Memory fondly linger o'er the scene 

Of pleasures, destined never to return, 

Of youth and grateful friendship, purest source 

Of transport and delight : and future joys 

Shall ne'er obliterate our sorrows past, 

Or light, or hope, break in upon the mind 

That mourns o'er love's imperishable tie 

In pensive grief! Friends of our birth, farewel !' 

Thus, while the wish arose in every heart 
For mercy on the lost and faithless tribes, 
The God, whose wisdom rules o'er all his works, 
Observed our inmost thoughts, and Asriel spake 
Jehovah's will to all the sons of heaven : 

'Hail to the faithful warriors of the sky, 
That firm allegiance kept, when rebel hate, 
And factious war, convulsed th' ethereal plains ! 



69 

Hear our great Father's word ! no more return 

The banished Lords, in darkness, and in woe, 

Condemned to groan ; and in th' infernal gulph, 

Hopeless of mercy, mourn ; nor would their proud 

And vain ambition to their King's command 

Submit, if, rising to their forfeit home, 

Below the sinless Cherubim arranged, 

They bow before their God : or all, or none 

V 
Of sovereignty, or power, Ambition claims, 

And grasps the phantom hope, and spurns content, 

Nor cares for frequent failure, nor the laws 

Of God, nor thoughts of general good, or ill ; 

Till the stern arm of Justice whelm its plans 

In lasting ruin ! where dark Chaos rolls, 

Th' Eternal Parent will create new Worlds, 

Replenished with their countless habitants, 

Committed to your charge, ye sons of God ! 

Until the day the numbers are complete 

Of those that fell from their sublimer sphere. 

Then, shall the general judgment be pronounced, 



70 

And all the sinless shall ascend to heaven, ' 
Our happiness to share, while every race 
O'er whose polluted souls the baleful wing 
Of Evil sheds its influence, doomed to woe, 
The demons of th' embosomed deep shall join, 
Self-ruined, self-condemned ! unless the claim 
Of Justice, equal attribute of God 
With Mercy, satisfied, the tribes release ; 
Contented, if some higher Being embrace 
The punishment deserved, and die the death, 
And plunge unshaken in the depths of Hell !' 

He said : and momentary silence seized 
The heavenly host ; for they had viewed the forms 
Amidst the roaring furnace of the deep, 
And marked the rising flames ; but One, unmoved, 
The promise heard, and, suppliant at the throne, 
Exalted Michael spake his high resolve : 

* Oh ! let not God be angry, while the voice 



71 

Of Michael rises, and in humble prayer 
Entreats for pardon on his bold request ! 
Justly our friends have fallen beneath thine arm, 
Where Vengeance reigns, and while we still lament, 
Confess the sentence righteous, that condemns 
Rebellion's vain designs : oh ! let not grief 
Dwell ever with thy servants ! fill the ranks 
Of angels, that we mourn their loss no more ! 
Their vacant seats supply with some new forms, 
Admitted to partake our happiness, 
When past their long probation ; hear me still, 
Eternal Judge, and Saviour, when I pray 
That Sin may never desolate the realms 
Thy power prepares ; but if the monster rage 
And poison thy fair works, may Michael bear 
The punishment decreed, change his high state, 
And lose his glory, to preserve thy Worlds ! 
Whate'er the sorrows Disobedience bring 
Upon the fallen, whate'er thy wrath demands, 
On me alone, on my devoted head, 



72 

The thunder hurl of Justice, but forgive 
Th' inferior beings that offend thy love ! ' 

So spake th' Archangel, and the Power replied : 
' Chief of the victor armies that pursued 
The demon myriads through the gulph profound : 
Imperfect beings ne'er can satisfy 
The stern, inflexible demands of Him 
That claims a full obedience to his law, 
Or make atonement for debasing crime : 
Perfection only reconciles to God 
The guilty race ; thou, liable to Sin, 
Thyself might'st err, and in the great attempt 
To rescue others from the wrath deserved, 
Might'st call for vengeance, and one common "War 
Of second ruin whelm th' expanded gems 
Of new Creation, and in sacred grief 
Again compel the Cherubim to mourn. 
Dear in his Father's sight, beloved, revered, 
By all th' admiring hierarchies of Heaven, 



73 

Th' apostate from his height of glory fell, 
"Wept by the conquering legions that fulfilled 
Their Father's wrath : oh ! then, obedience keep, 
Sons of th' Almighty ! through the endless years 
Of being, venerate your Parent God, 
Nor hope to expiate for others' guilt ; 
For who is perfect ? He, th* All-potent One, 
The great, th' unseen Jehovah ! and shall he 
Descend from high among inferior Worlds, 
1" atone, and bring th' unrighteous to himself ? 
No ! to his will resigned, forget the past, 
And, joyous in his mercy, raise again 
Our long forgotten notes of heavenly joy/ 

He said ; and through Eternity th' abyss 
Would still between the heavens and Hell have rolled, 
The radiant train of stars had never been, 
Nor fallen man, nor sinless millions filled 
Their shining spheres ; but now th' all-perfect Son, 
In high communion with the Father, spake 

Arm. K 



His will, to undergo the full demands 
Of Justice, and redeem the guilty race. 
Asriel in silence veiled his trembling frame, 
And all the ranks of heaven astonished heard 
The wond'rous grace ; while from Jehovah's throne 
The clouds that curtained the empyreal light 
Withdrawn, the beaming and resistless ray 
Spread through the favored regions of the skies. 
God's voice was heard ! but who relates must die, 
Though of angelic birth. Upon the Son 
Smiled the transcendent Deity, well-pleased, 
And gave the counsels of his sovereign mind ; 
That spirits be infused, that forms arise, 
And yonder Universe of stars exist ! 

Such was th' Almighty's will : and, oh ! what lyre, 
Entuned in harmony divine, can tell 
The glories of the day ; when forth the Son, 
In his own majesty of Godhead, rode 
Sublime ; and, with him, all the Hierarchies 



75 

Descended to th' expanded shore of heaven, 

High hovering o'er the void and formless gloom : 

Then the red lightning, in undying flash, 

Discovered all the horrors of th' abyss 

To angel-eyes, far as the gates of Hell : 

Then the Messiah, to our hosts revealed, 

Witnessed th' incessant roar, and saw the storm 

Convulse th' immeasurable mass profound, 

Its ocean billows, and its sun-like fires, 

And clouds of mighty atoms, waving high 

Above the surface of the swelling deep : 

He calmed the troubled Chaos with a glance, 

He spake, and instant o'er th' unruffled sea 

Peace reigned, nor sound was heard, nor atom moved. 

Now, bending o'er th' immense, again he gave 
The word of power, and bade the joyless gulph 
Form the wide circle of th' intended worlds, 
And bordering heaven and hell, enclose the space 
The Godhead willed with countless stars t' adorn. 



76 

Dark Chaos trembled at th' Almighty voice, 
And parting at the centre, back-recoiled 
Throughout its trackless realms, and rolled along 
TV enormous, formless, and capacious home 
Of elements disorganized, and crude : 
Whirlwind, and Continent, and globous fire 
Blend in the endless distance, as it swept 
Tempestuous to th' abode its Lord assigned, 
The utmost convex of th' intended space. 
Wondering, the host of heaven survey, and call 
The banished Chaos, Armageddon's plain : 
Creation's boundaries infinitely spread, 
Pavilion of the star-filled Universe, 
An orb of horror, hurricane, and night ! 

Spirit of God ! upon the lifeless scene 
Primeval darkness, Chaos-born, maintained 
Its shadowy sway ; enthroned upon the deep 
In silence, till thy genial influence breathed 
Its sacred blessing on the kindling void, 






77 

And spake the all-potent word, ' let there be light ! J 

Bursting to being rose the golden ray, 

And instant, streaming through th J admiring fields 

Of Nature, brighter and more bright appeared 

All glorious ; till resistless splendour beamed 

In mild repose within the dark blue vault. 

Then shone the glories of the stars of heaven : 
Poised on the new dominions of the light, 
The many-coloured suns, and systems weave 
Their mystic dance, sky-piercing ; and emblaze 
The royal mansions, revelling in the smile 
Of Deity ; and young Creation rang 
Through all her frame, when every glowing world 
Swam on the living light, and sprang to day 
Unutterably grand : thick clouds of stars, 
Girt with their moving, tributary spheres 
Of wandering planets, and the devious bulk 
Of comets, hear the life-enduing call, 
And claim existence ; till the splendid train, 



78 

In all their radiant constellations, decked 
The palace of their Sovereign : as the moon 
Invests the rolling Earth, and Earth its Lord, 
So blending, intermingling, every sun 
Its path pursued ; and round one common globe, 
Great centre of the vast and azure space ; 
Self-balanced, and preserved by laws sublime, 
Their varied and harmonious march began. 

Such are the works of God ! Six days of heaven 
Energic power the great Creation raised, 
And every star with every charm adorned, 
Of hill, and vale, and shrubs, and trees, and flowers ; 
And, on the last, the breath of life was breathed, 
Best emanation from the ruling Lord ! 
And spirits were infused, and man arose 
Accountable ; and all the morning stars 
Sang in their joy, and all the sons of God 
Adored ; and shouted o'er the new-made world ! 



79 

Then did th* Omniscient eye behold ; and all 
Was good, for all was pure, and free from sin. 
To heaven our train ascended ; with loud songs 
Harping on harps celestial to the praise 
Of the triune Omnipotent : and oft 
With mighty Elasah we joined to watch 
The stars beneath, where in the central orb 
His court was fixed ; lest from th' unhallowed deep 
Some evil power escaping should seduce 
Th' ethereal forms, that on their native spheres 
Should dwell, and tear them from their promised heaven. 

Far from our state of bliss, a star there shone 
That claimed th' attention of our angel-guard 
More frequent, for, among its planets rolled 
The only spot throughout the works of God, 
Where evil entered, and deformed its race. 
Prince of the power of air, the dragon-fiend 
Here reigned ; and captive led the human mind 
A willing prisoner to Sin's treacherous art, 



80 

That smiles to stab, and flatters to betray. 

Let me not sing of evil ; every tone 

That pours its dying cadence from the lyre 

Discordant sounds ; whene'er upon that theme 

I sorrowing touch ; and every quivering string 

Pants for the happier strains of peace and^joy. 

Oh ! let me raise the more majestic song 

Of goodness ; and unfold the wonderous love 

Of Him, th' Incarnate God ; Lord of the skies 5 

Lord ! what was man, that thou should st visit him, 

And calm Jehovah's wrath ? and bow the heavens, 

And leave thy ministering angels, and thy God, 

Thy Father, on th' ungrateful Earth to rove, 

A friendless, slighted stranger ; where no home 

Thy blameless head should shelter ? there to taste 

The bitter insults of degraded man, 

Thyself a man of sorrows, and with grief 

Acquainted : to atone for those who wove 

The crown of thorns, who nailed thee on the cross, 

And pierced with sins and taunts thy bleeding heart, 



81 

And bade thee die an ignominious death ? 

Then was Earth's ransom paid ; the grave, and hell, 

Thy power confessed, when Justice claimed thy form. 

Oh ! mourn, and weep with me, ye dear-bought sons ; 

Weep, though he saved you by his pardoning blood, 

And praise with tears the mercy of your God, 

The only tears that angels share with man ! 

Such are the things that have been ; who can tell 
The future, or the second war in heaven, 
Relate ? the clash of arms, the ruinous storm, 
When on this plain of Armageddon meet 
The seven-fold ranks of being that rebelled 
Against th' Almighty, with th' ethereal host 
Clad in their Monarch's thunder, and the arms 
Of heaven ; while every chariot of the fiends, 
Drawn by their giant-serpent race, shall bear 
Their mighty masters through our watchful lines, 
And mark their way with uproar, and revenge, 
While mad despair alternately possess 

Arm. L 



82 

TV embattled armies, and the dreadful scene 
Of havoc shake creation, as the stars, 
The calm spectators of the conflict, shine 
Upon th' opposing legions, and illume 
The shattered wreck of Armageddon's realms ; 
And towering o'er our seats of peace, the shock 
Of stern confusion, and demoniac strength 
Shall rise, aspiring to the throne of God ? 
Say, will the Spirit of destruction pour 
His wrath abroad, and o'er th' indignant foe 
Effuse resistless terrors ? or shall Hell 
Exult victorious o'er the realms of bliss ? 
Rebellion shall not prosper ! some dread arm, 
Endued with holy power, shall quell the pride, 
Shall wrest the daring sceptre and the crown 
Of mad ambition, till the gates of Hell 
Close on its falling, lost, and vanquished sons. 
Then, shall our songs proclaim th' Almighty war, 
And hymn th' Eternal Victor ; then, the Son 
The kingdom to his Father shall resign, 



83 

And Armageddon, closing on the stars, 
Quench in its night of ruin every Sun : 
The gulph impassable 'tween either World 
Of Happiness and Torment : till the realms 
Of Chaos, Hell, and Heaven, with God remain, 
The One, the United, boundless Universe." 



END OF BOOK THE SECOND. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



TBoofe t&e CbirD. 



argument 



Hell, and the consultation of the Demons. 
The demons convey the condemned into the infernal i egions — assemble 
at Achim, a rock above the sea of flames — Hell, as seen from 
Achim — after a long silence, Chelubai speaks, advising submission 
— he is followed by Brahma, who counsels the seizure of the stars — 
Arioch proposes a defence at the verge of hell — Indra speaks to 
the same effect as Brahma, wishing to reign in the sun, and to de- 
stroy Britain — the consultation interrupted by Sin, who bids them 
proceed, and descends to add new torments to the damned. 



8rmagettoon. 



Hail to the golden hours of joyous youth, 

The morn of life ! when Hope th' enchantress smiles, 

And Friendship's wreath, unwithered by the world, 

Delights th' enraptured mind, nor knows the sigh 

That breaks the heart, when Ceremony's cold smile 

Bespeaks the changing friend ; but gay content, 

And peace of mind, and genuine feeling, strew 

The flowers of happiness in life's dull road. 

Stay, lovely moments, stay ! and with ye bring 

The smile of beauty, and the speaking eye 

Arm. M 



90 

Of mutual love, that fires the youthful breast, 
Till throned in ev'ry thought, he twine the chain 
Of transport and of softness o'er the soul. 

And thou, companion of our earlier years, 
Creative Fancy, come ! inspire my song. 
Oh form thy Paradise below, to drive 
The dull realities of life away ! 
Come, with celestial Poesy ! and raise 
The daring thoughts in ecstasy ; where once 
The mighty master of the British lyre 
Soared with uplifted wing, and spurned the Earth 
To realise his heaven, ere death could free, 
Or angels bear his spotless soul above. 
Par in those trackless regions, let me trace 
The world's great barrier ; with presuming flight 
Rise to those unknown realms, and thence descend 
To the dark prisons of eternal woe : 
Or rise with fearless ken to view the fall 
Of the wide-spread Creation ; Systems, Suns, 



91 

And Worlds, in all their rich varieties, 

Close in tumultuous horror, and deform 

The trembling sky. Glow in the polished verse, 

Spirit of genuine Poetry 1 of all 

That ornament this free, and favored land ! 

For still our bards can elevate the soul, 

Affect the passions, or, improve the heart, 

In songs of Love, or Chivalry, or Hope, 

Gertrude, or Margaret, Marmion, and Fitz James ; 

Or wild, or wondrous tales of Eastern Climes ; 

Or that well-told, enchanting pilgrimage, 

Of him that wandered from his native land, 

A restless, feeling, disappointed Childe. 

Oh ! had he drank of that exhaustless spring 

That flows from Siloa's consecrated fount ; 

Untired by life's monotony, unpalled 

With the full cup of pleasure, and of vice, 

Goodness and virtue had adorned his brow, 

And pure religion o'er his wounded heart 

Had poured her soothing gifts of lasting joy, 



The balm of grief, the antidote of care ! 

Empires, and Nations, pomp, and wealth, may fail 

The patriot Warrior's honors may decay, 

Yet still the Muse exists to twine around ' 

The hero's brow th' immortal wreath of fame ; 

The Muse the ruins of a state survives, 

Preserves the memory of forgotten years, 

The rock unshaken in oblivion's flood, 

The Polar Star of the dark night of time! 

Such are the dreams of youth ; too soon to cease, 
When hacknied av'rice, and th' alluring toys 
Of this dull world, shall cloud the open brow. 
But, when the charms of youthful fancy fade, 
Celestial Science shall unfold her stores 
Exhaustless, and the soul, improving still, 
Trace her great parent, while Religion smiles, 
The guard of youth and age, till nobler scenes 
Expand th' immortal germ, and God alone 
In boundless knowledge satisfy the mind. 



93 

Long did the light of glory, from the throne 
Of God's Messiah, on the race condemned 
To the dark world of woe, its radiance spread ; 
Nor died away, till deeper down th' abyss 
They fell, through Armageddon's dreary plains. 
Now were they wrapt in gloom impenetrable, 
Save by the lurid rays that darkling gleamed 
From each malignant and demoniac form, 
That taunted with severe reproach their prey ; 
And, as the last faint light of heaven expired, 
Immortal hope fled on the golden beam 
Up to her native home ; then loudest cries 
Of agony, 'mid the heart-racking pangs, 
Were heard, wide-echoing through the groaning waste ; 
And fierce despair looked horror, as they plunge 
Through many a flood of mingling fire, and sea. 
O'er many a rock proud on its barren base, 
That spurned th' inferior demons' meaner strength, 
They pass ; though many a crag and Btedfost mound 
Their giant-arms o'erthrew, and soaring, part 



94 

Above their prostrate bulk ; then high they rise* 
Or lowly frequent crouch their rebel forms 
Beneath the floating cliffs, among the clash 
Of rushing whirlwinds, that between the caves, 
And lengths, and depths of Armageddon, sweep. 
Now downward still they fall, till the hot breath 
Its baleful influence shed ; and lower yet, 
Till the wild roaring of the furnace broke 
Upon their maddening ear, and the stern sound 
Of the superior fiends, as on the brink 
Of Hell they stood, darting th' impatient glance 
Up to the realms of night, and shrieked aloud : 
" Where are the traitor-souls, where is Mankind ?" 

The first faint lightnings of th' abyss of Death 
Smote horribly on the recoiling view ; 
And in the shadowy distance, by its rays, 
Unnumbered legions of the demon lords, 
Confusedly roving on th* o'erhanging verge, 
Are seen ; surveying all the hopeless tribes 



95 

That still descend, till the wild waves appear 

Of woe's eternal ocean ! Hell itself, 

Roused from its fiery gulph to meet the sons 

Of Earth, high reared its lasting flames to grasp 

The spoils of Sin ; and as the eddying surge 

Burst from its yielding confines, every fiend 

That on his spreading pinions bore the race 

Condemned, in fear the swelling fire avoid ; 

And raging, in their hatred of mankind, 

Down to the rising blaze the wretched tribes 

They hurl. Man falls ! Hell roars aloud with joy ; 

And every demon raised a dreadful note 

Of gladness, as the madly-circling flame 

Drowned their faint cries, and bore them from the view. 

Whelmed in the stormy gulphs of rolling fire. 

Above th' expanded deep, abrupt, sublime, 
A dreary pile of adamantine rock 
Arose, uninjured by the mass of heat, 
That round the spacious fabric ceaseless poured ; 



96 

Rough, black, and vast, its ponderous bulk it reared, 

And threw on high from many a yawning cave 

Its endless streams, that swift-descending flowed 

In fiery columns on the craggy soil, 

And blend with the unfathomed waste below, 

As earthly rivers from the mountains fall 

To join the spacious sea ; the rugged base, 

Illumined by the reddening waves of flame, 

Shone in the restless ocean ; but above 

The mournful light, impenetrable clouds 

Of darkness ruled, and all th' impassive gloom, 

That silent rose upon the lower world, 

When first th' eternal mandate bade the graves 

Of Hell's infernal monarchies exist ; 

Here, while the showering fire upon his crest 

In fury played, the great Ganesa raised 

His sounding voice as Satan gave command. 

" Lords of the gulph profound ! God's voice was given, 
That men, and angels, should await the day 



97 

Of wrath, and, bound at the Almighty throne, 

Should feel the vengeance of eternal woe. 

Man, Man has fallen ! hear then our Monarch's will ! 

The hour of danger comes ! the tyrant King 

Of Heaven, t' accomplish his dread word, prepares . 

To cast the bolt of Justice on our heads ; 

But, ere the wrath descend, on Achim's cliffs 

He wills the dignities and Chiefs unite, 

In common senate, for the public good, 

T' anticipate our enemy, and act 

As best the general council may decide. 

He spake ; and, rising from the sullen shades 
Of Hell's remotest realms, the seven-fold host 
Assemble ; and forsake their varied haunts 
Of rock, or lonely den, and calm their thoughts 
That feared the coming evil, to attend 
The lofty summons : on its utmost top 
Meet the superior fiends, and, with their Chief, 
Amid the darkness, veil their mighty forms 

Arm. N 



98 

From all the common throng that glare below, 
"With light reflected from the fiery surge. 
On every frowning brow might each perceive 
The sad remembrance of the dangers past, 
Of woes th J eternal vengeance had assigned 
To crush their fainting hopes, and quell the last 
Aspiring madness of rebellion's pride. 
There, closed in shrouding terrors, every chief ■ 
In high communion spake, to screen their dread, 
And seem undaunted in the adverse hour. 
Through clouds of darkness glittering, every Lord 
Shone as the stars, when in the misty night 
Their spreading beauties rise ; then, loud the voice 
Was given, that, now, emerging from the gloom, 
The Powers proceed ; and, where th' inferior tribes 
Await their Chiefs, the Council be begun. 

Slow they obey : but, ere one chieftain broke 
The solemn silence, as they downward sped 
From Achim's stormy cliffs, a mournful sound 



99 

Of anguish, bursting from the swelling waves, 
Smote on th* attentive ear : forth from the height 
The demon Senate look upon the race 
Of Man, contending with the sparkling sea : 
High o'er the flame their burning forms they raise 
And vainly strive the sulphurous rocks to grasp 
With eager hand ; for ever, as they rose, 
The torrid flood impetuous fiercer lashed 
The fiery mounds, and swept its panting prey 
Back to the deep : the blazing billows rave 
Among the rugged continents, and bear 
The howling millions of mankind along 
The drear and stormy surface ; o'er their heads 
A firmament of gloom frowned horribly, 
And redness unendurable arched th' abyss 
As the blue vault of heaven the rolling earth ; 
While in the circling gleam, black smoky clouds 
Their poisonous vapor showered ; and many a fiend 
To Achim's verge, on darkling pinions borne, 
Gazed fearfully, rejoicing at the pangs 



100 

Of human beings that themselves had caused, 
Tempting the / suffering victims of despair 
To sin : the dry and choaking atmosphere, 
Burnt, as the scorching Samiel in the sands 
Of Araby ; and, from the spreading crags, 
And islands rising in the foamy sea, 
Rivers of Death, and melted adamant, 
In cataracts of burning flame, poured down 
Incessant horrors ; and o'erwhelmed the faint 
And miserable tribes, whose hardened hearts 
The still small voice of Mercy could not melt : 
Now, doomed to feel the Justice of a God ! 
Some climb upon the rough, and arid ground, 
Seeking the waste and dreary solitudes 
Of Hell, but find no rest ; the keener pang 
Raged in their wakeful breasts, all fire without, 
And souls of guilt within : and oft the soil 
Beneath their faltering footsteps yields, to plunge 
Their wretched forms below ; and winds, and storms, 
Whirlpools, and hurricanes of wrath,' convulse 



101 

The laboring fire ; and oft the mounds divide, 
And falling, whelm whole millions as they grasp 
Their dark foundations : there, in wild embrace, 
Two meeting rocks, with fearful uproar, close, 
And raise on high the bickering sparks, and crush, 
Beneath their barren sides, the shrieking race. 
These were the lesser ills : th' undying worm 
Of Conscience, and the memory of the past 
Compelled the bitter cry, and stern reproach 
Of sons and parents, howling the loud curse 
In agony : and oft their wandering minds 
Returned to Earth ; and, as the scenes of life 
With torturing contrast, heightened every pang, 
Ambition, Lust, and Avarice, mocked the thought 
That sprang in every bosom, as the soul, 
Now pondering o'er their undivided sway, 
Weak and degraded, wept its ruined pride. 
God's Omnipresent eye is ever there ! 
Endurance shall not quench the nameless pain, 
The constant torment is for ever new ! 



102 

No respite from that endless storm, no rest, 
Or peace, or death, or cold oblivion soothe 
Their anguish-burthened heart ; no friendly word 
Of comfort or affection speaks relief, 
No drop of water cools their burning tongue ; 
In ceaseless, hopeless agony, they rove, 
Mourning eternally the wrath to come ; 
Lost to all feeling but the sense of guilt, 
Cursed, and immortal, wretched, and debased. 

Long gaze the fiends ; till, gathering round their chiefs, 
In all their ranks, the tribes collect, to hear 
The words of counsel, to aspire again 
To heaven, or here establish their firm seat 
Of lasting empire, or, at God's high throne, 
To pray for pardon on their rebel heads. 
To the stern roar they listen, and to shrieks, 
That, borne on many a whirlwind, wandered by ; 
As in the savage islands of the South, 
Some barbarous Chieftain, on his rugged cliff, 



103 

At midnight's solemn hour, hears the wild prayer 
For refuge from the sea-worn mariner ; 
Catches the scream of murder on the blast 
Loud swelling, as bis comrades in the storm 
Wave high the flaming torch, and hail the crew 
From Ocean's foaming billows to the toils 
Of slaughter, shuddering at the wished-for sound, 
Though joyous o'er his prey : so hear the fiends 
With gladness, dread, and trembling, till arose, 
Among th' assembled peers, with clouded brow, 
And frame convulsed with very agony, 
Chelubai, and in tones of horror spake. 

" Almighty God ! thy terrors whelm our souls, 
Beholding what thy wrath inflicts on Man. 
Oh ! say, what thunders are in store for those 
Who dared rebel before their world was called 
To being, with the glittering stars around 
Its beauteous orb, nor, since the day, 
That sovereign Justice bared her potent arm. 



104 

Have ceased to sin : but, rising from the deep, 
Deformed the lovely Earth, seduced mankind 
From their allegiance, and, rejoicing, swayed 
God's world ; and, now, exulting in our act, 
Again in Council met, defy thy Power ? 
Oh ! is thy cup of anger full ? thine eye 
Foresees, and thwarts our impotent revenge. 
How needless then our senate ! oh ! how vain 
Our consultations, when superior strength 
Prevents fulfilment of our mad attempts ! 
Lord of our host ! in heaven, ere time began, 
We knew the happiness, that Angel minds, 
In the blest mansions of their Monarch, know ; 
Girt with celestial light, we tuned our harps 
To sing the God, who gave us every joy, 
Refined and perfect bliss : curst be the hour 
Thy poisoning influence taught us to aspire 
Against th' Eternal, the All-potent One, 
In vile Rebellion ; then departed Love, 
And Peace, and Innocence, and ne'er returned ; 



105 

For, taught by thee, we cease not to offend. 
Companions of my guilt, no more provoke 
The arm of Justice, and the fearful war 
Of God's Messiah, on our devoted heads ; 
By mad Ambition, be no more deceived ; 
What cure remains, what remedy for Woe, 
What charm for Angels worthy to receive, 
What comfort, when defeat again shall hurl 
Our sevenfold orders from tli" unconquered sky ? 
Who shall repair the ruin, who restore 
The*mournful happiness we still derive, 
While Vengeance sleeps ? Curst in himself, 
Author of evil to angelic minds, 
And foiled in all his madness, shall our Chief 
Still tempt our weary wing to soar the deep? 
Him let us yield to all that God demands, 
Him, and his Counsels with disdain reject, 
And, spurning all delay, our suppliant ranks 
Lead from the horrors of this world of pain, 
And prostrate at the throne of glory bow ; 

Arm. O 



106 

Or, at the battlements of heaven, entreat 
For pardon : there implore the lowest place, 
And there, admitted, humble, silent, rest 
Content beneath the meanest of the host 
Of sinless tribes, content beneath mankind V s 

They hear no more : a general murmur spread 
Of proud disdain, and the indignant cry 
That scorned submission, dreading still the King 
Of heaven, and loudest from the guiltier rose : 
The sudden cry seemed as the stormy roar 
Of forests, yielding to the fitful blast 
On Norway's lordly hills ; for well they knew, 
That not a more revengeful spirit or base 
Hell boasted than Chalubai : weak, and vain, 
And treach'rous, with a courtier's flattery, 
He loved the counsels that he hoped would raise 
His restless pride, the first and foremost still 
The failure to condemn, himself to guard 
From stern reproach ; and every faction joined, 



107 

Till shunned, contemned, and hated, every Power 
The wavering fiend despised, who faithful stayed 
In Hell, for Heaven's eternal gates were closed, 
With equal scorn, on his dishonored head. 

Then rose th' illustrious Chief, revered, renowned, 
Among the demon-world ; the giant-height 
Of mighty Bramha ; greatest of the three 
That form the wonderous and unuttered word, 
The pondering Brahmin meditates, and bows 
In holy silence to the mystic name ; 
The one, the varied Deity : the mind 
That builds existence, and in matter lives. 
Last of the idol Gods that bound the Earth 
In error, throned upon the gorgeous East, 
He ruled, and with sublimest visions filled 
Th' immortal soul, faint semblance of the truth ! 
Around his open brow, a fiery stream 
Far-beaming spread, and in luxurious folds 
His many-coloured mantle waved, and o'er 



108 

His spacious shoulder flowed the Zennar line, 
Beneath the breast descending, while his hand 
The mystic Lotos as a sceptre held, 
Triumphant sign of power ; and, near him sate, 
Ever in hell, or earth, inseparable, 
Sky-loving Indra ; Camdeo, God of Love, 
Long born, yet ever young ; Ganga divine, 
And the long train of Indian deities, 
That hailed their rising Chief, with shouts of joy ; 
While every fiend in deeper silence stood, 
To hear the moving, and persuasive strain. 

" Lords of the lower world ! what base designs 
Are these that in our Council dare intrude, 
Of mean submission to th* Eternal One, 
That sways the heavens ; what, though he sees our hearts. 
And every thought that in our souls arise, 
And overlooks our Senate : hear ye not 
The groans of horror, that from Achim's base 
Ascend ? these are the sounds of triumph, these 



109 

The proof that God's decree to Demon-strength 
Submits, and can be conquered ; did he will 
That Man should sink into Eternal woe, 
To perish hopeless, when his only Son 
The mansions of celestial glory left 
On Man's behalf? and, if the human soul, 
God's favorite work, created in the form 
And image of its parent, last and best 
Of all his works, made by the potent arm, 
Whose finger garnished the material worlds, 
Could fall, destroyed, and ruined by our strength ! 
Then, can we spread confusion in the stars, 
The lesser wonders of his sovereign power, 
Or, in those suns inhabit, and possess 
The rolling globes, and leave this dread abode. 
What is God's Universe? one mighty orb, 
(The centre, star-filled space,) on every side 
Boundless ; the kingdom of the heavens above 
Shines in the glories of the immediate God ; 
Beneath, in all its horrors, flames the world 



110 

Of Hell ; and, round the stars, from East to West, 

The plain of Armageddon : oft, on wing 

Swifter than light, our venturous forms have pierced 

Its roaring gulphs, and sought in vain an end. 

All is infinity : the heavens above * 

To endless distance spread ; this hell beneath 

Unfathomable ; and Armageddon's wastes, 

On all sides, boundless : God alone through all 

Extends Eternal, Infinite, Unknown ! 

Yet have we ruined Man : then, let us rise, 

Seize the deserted suns, and there commence 

Our sovereign empire o'er the varied orbs. 

Thou in the central mass, our mighty Chief, * 

Shalt hold empyreal sway, the Lord of all, 

Still monarch of the Princes of the air ! 

Then should the Eternal launch his thunders forth 

To thrust our Chiefs from the forsaken stars, 

His vengeance shall we frustrate, and destroy 

The glowing spheres ; tear from their spacious realms 

Th' uprooted splendors; armed with Suns, and Worlds, 



in 

Dash the vast fragments through the groaning depths, 

The echoing thunders of the God defy, 

And roll his broken systems back to heaven. 

And, if defeat must sink us down to woe, 

Still shall we nobly triumph in our fate, 

And in the ruins of Creation fall." 

He ceased ; the rising tumult of applause, 
Through the wide deep, resounds in louder tone, 
Than when the mighty earthquakes shook the plains 
Of Europe, and the solid Continent 
Dividing, placed amid th' Atlantic wave 
Great Ocean's peerless gems, th' unconquered shores 
Of Britain's lovely isles ; amid the shouts, 
Slow-rising, and majestic, Arioch reared 
His reverend height ; and, deeply pondering, spake. 

" Partners in danger, Peers, and Lords of Hell ! 
Though much of warlike counsels I approve, 
And o'er some flaming star would fix my throne, 



112 

In proud defiance of the vengeful King, 

"Who, claiming Omnipresence, tamely views 

Our firm resolves, and in the burning deep 

In vain would prove his power, and rescue Man ; 

Yet, has he sworn to judge us on the plain 

Of Armageddon, where the groaning tribes 

Of mortals heard the sentence of despair. 

Say, shall he drag us, bound, in sight of Heaven, 

And, calling to his angels, bid them rest 

Their weary wing ; and, silent, as he darts 

The bolt of Justice on our fainting host, 

Behold us fall ? or, with exulting cries 

Pursue our flying squadrons through the stars ? 

Is this the fate prepared ? Is this the war 

The giant monarchies of hell must wage ? 

Oh ! learn experience from the fatal past, 

When rash presumption dared the immediate throne. 

My counsel is, far on Hell's gloomy verge, 

To pile on high the adamantine mounds, 

And rocks, and crags of the overhanging plain, 



113 

Where Armageddon bounds th' infernal gates, 

And, in the thickest darkness, there arrange 

Our matchless legions ; there, the ranks of heaven, 

Descending to fulfil th* Eternal word, 

And force our myriads to the judgment seat, 

Shall meet our fury of despair, and own 

Superior power ; when our resistless might 

Shall conquer, and the courtly myriads hurl, 

Each grasping his opposing enemy, 

Down to Hell's burning regions ; there to feel 

What torment is, when all their routed tribes 

We sink in ten-fold fire, and drag them down 

To depths that shall consume their shining arms, 

And waste their forms, and wither all their strength. 

This is revenge ! then let their sovereign come, 

Ride on the billows of our flaming world, 

And call his routed angels from the gulph, 

Still will we grasp our prey, and lower plunge, 

Spite of increasing agony, till God, 

Pitying his lost and suffering tribes, command 

Arm, I 






114 

The fire to cease, and Hell's red firmament 
Smile with refreshing gales, and drop with balm, 
In equal influence o'er his friends and foes ! 
Then, may our conquering myriads claim the realms 
Of nature ; and deserting these wild scenes 
Of barren grandeur, and terrific fire, 
Resign our hopes of heaven to govern there, 
Content the empire of the skies to rule." 

Then Indra rose : him did the Brahmin name 
Lord of the azure heaven, him all the East 
Adored ; and trembled, when the thunder rolled 
At Indra's mighty word ; whose high abode, 
Enriched with gold and gem, Sumeru claimed, 
Great mountain of the North ; proudly he stood, 
And spake disdainfully his haughty thoughts. 

" I love these daring projects, and despise 
The vain decree that to the judgment-seat 
Our fearless ranks would lead, to bear the gaze 



115 

Of scornful angels, and of ransomed Man. 

Come, let us climb the deep, and range the skies ! 

My soul exults with hope that I may sway 

Some dazzling sun, perhaps, that radiant star, 

Whose power sublime the seven-fold orbs commands, 

To run their constant circle round his throne 

Of glory, and obey their varied laws. 

There rolls the vanquished Earth : oh ! with what joy, 

Departing from the sun's refulgent height, 

To India's fragrant plains, would I descend ! 

There, as a streaming meteor, on the mount 

Of great Sumeru, fill the burning sky 

With my own splendors, the loud thunder hurl, 

And wield the raging elements, and call 

My favored comrades from their chosen homes, 

Among the glittering stars, to hear my songs 

Harmonious, floating on the dews of night. 

Thence would I wing my way, with sweet revenge 

Inspired, where proudly in the distant AVcst, 

Imperial Britain, on her chalky shores, 



116 

Sits like the Queen of Ocean, and disdains 
The flowing surge, as once th' embattled World. 
There, plunging in the sea, my giant arm 
Would wrest her firm foundations from their seat, 
Dart through the firmament the hated Isle, 
Sever the pendent clouds, and, smiling, view 
Its scattered atoms float upon the waves 
Her sons commanded, and the Earth defied. 
Long ere the trumpet of th J Archangel roused 
The human race, had I destroyed the land 
That gave the Gospel to the Heathen world, 
And reared the standard of Eternal Truth, 
On India's fertile plains, and banished thence 
Immortal Bramha's worship, and his shrines 
O'erthrew with all our Idol-deities , 
But that I loved a nobler, richer prize 
Than all that Britain, or the World, can yield, 
Th* immortal soul ! this did we make our own, 
This is the valued gem, this the reward 
Of all our toils, and agonies of pain ; 



117 

This was revenge indeed, when God from heaven 

Descended, and surrounding Angels wept 

To pay the tribute for offending Man, 

That we should mar his glory, render vain 

The wonderous death, bind the mad will, and drag 

Our wretched victims to this den of woe, 

Groaning: for second life, and wise too late !" 

I 

Still in the act to speak, while fierce revenge 
Glared in the wildness of his hollow eye, 
The demon paused ; as, o'er the glowing surge, 
Thick clouds of sudden night and darkness spread 
A fearful shade, and, floating o'er the crowd, 
Hovered on high, obscuring the dim light, 
That, quivering from the base of Achim, gleamed 
Upon their glittering arms, and blazing shields ; 
And, from above, uncertain sounds were heard, 
Increasing with tumultuous rage, (as once 
The rushing waves upon the sunken hills, 
And mountains of Tiraeus' continent, 



118 

Declining slowly in the whelming tide, 
So says the Grecian tale,) and nearer came, 
Till, bursting wildly on the troubled ear, 
In loud resounding tone, a voice was heard. 

" In Hell's dark regions are my sons ; go on \ 
Arrange your firm battalions, and assault 
The heaven of heavens ! I will be with you still : 
Rouse your keen thoughts, and, pointing to the skies, 
Breathe my whole influence o'er your willing souls, 
And rear the scorpion-lash of wild despair, 
When fainting toil shall sink beneath the bolt 
Of heavenly wrath. On to the higher world! 
Consult no more ! e'en now, th' angelic host, 
Commissioned from th' Eternal throne, may speed 
Their silent way, to drag you to the plain 
Of Judgment, and compel your scattered tribes 
To hear the sentence of th* offended God, 
While unprepared, unarmed, your wandering ranks 
Upon their Chieftains gaze, and pant for war, 



119 

And clash their arms in vain. Awake, my sons ! 
Rouse all your terrors, summon all your strength, 
That Sin may reign in heaven ; the throne of God 
Ascend, where Evil never hath aspired, 
Till good be overcome. Hear me ! oh ! hear, 
Assembled Lords ! this is the final war ! 
Save me from stern disgrace, and vile defeat ! 
Oh ! let not Virtue conquer ! else shall woes 
More dread, more agonizing, rend your souls 
In torment : then, your Parent must become 
Your curse, your enemy. Victorious Sin 
May smile at ruined Virtue, that, secure 
In its own happiness, derides its shaft ; 
But, when that Virtue triumphs o'er the bold 
And unconcealed attacks of open Vice, 
This, this is Hell begun : but, fear ye not ! 
Now, to yon suffering hosts will I descend, 
Who worship at my honored shrine no more. 
Farewell ! farewell !" They from the hovering cloud 
Beheld th' emerging shape, beloved so long, 



wo 

Of Sin their common Parent ; lovely seemed 

The Phantom, though her towering form had lost 

Its youthful grace : and horror and revenge 

Glowed from her deepened eye, and withering rage, 

And stern impatience, writhed in every limb : 

Yet oft, as indistinctly seen, she beamed 

Amid the gloom, the lowering countenance wore 

A melancholy paleness, that attracts 

Their constant gaze, and all her native grace 

Returned, in fancy, to their ardent minds 

In mingling beauty, and delightful change. 

As to the dying Lover's sight appears 

The smiling image of his long-lost fair, 

Amid the hateful and demoniac dreams 

Of wild delirium mingling ; the dread shapes, 

Around his burning head, flit fearfully, 

Inspiring horror, while the beauteous maid, 

"With mournful look, smiles languidly, and cheers 

The fevered youth ; so, from the spectre Sin, 

The various terrors, and remaining charms 



121 

Of fancied softness shone. Slow to the tribes 
She turned, and, from the covering darkness, hailed 
Her sons, and bade them prosper, while the voice 
Infused new strength, as from their eager view 
She vanished in the gulph of billowy fire. 
And long they watch in silence, as they hear, 
Borne on the sullen whirlwind, dismal groans, 
And curses of despair, and nameless blasphemies. 



END OF BOOK THE THIRD. 



An.". Q 



ARMAGEDDON. 



I600& tbe jfourtf). 



argument. 



Description of seven orders of Beings. 
Consultation continued — Speech of Odin— of Satan, who commissions 
Brahma and Ithream to burn the Earth, by hurling a comet from 
its orbit — the Demons prepare for the battle of Armageddon— de- 
scription of seven ranks of beings, who appear in order, beginning 
with the Teraphim — followed by the Chemarim, who have the 
power to change their forms— by the Angels — the Seraphim, 
among whom appear the deities of Indostan, Bhavani, Narayen, 
Pedmala, Candarpa, and others — the Cherubim— the Arch- 
angels — the Hierarchs, in orbs of fire — and, lastly, by Satan, on 
the wings of Cherubim — the whole host leave the infernal world — 
their appearance as the stars— Speech of Satan — oatli of the De- 
mons. 



&rmaj$etitiott. 



r \_KE silence Odin broke — Lord of the North ! 
The cruel Scandinavian sang his praise, 
And hailed him Guardian of the warrior's soul, 
The parent, and the murderer, of mankind, 
The sire of slaughter, and the God that reigned 
O'er proud Valhalla, and the bloody field, 
To name the slain, rejoicing in the groans 
Of dying heroes, and the clash of arms, 
As opening flowerets love the morning dew : 
He rose ; and thus his labored counsels gave : 



128 

" High towering o'er the vast, and rolling globe 
For sovereign rule, Ambition pined, and roused 
The maddening form of Discord, where she sate, 
Twining her snaky hair, with bloody wreathe, 
And bade the Fury bear from Scythia's mines 
The conquering sword, and arm th' unsparing hand 
Of lawless power, to gain the fertile World. 
The fiend obeyed : borne on the ruthless wings 
Of danger, and of Death, the fatal steel 
To proud Ambition crouched ; yet gave no joy, 
No honor, no possession, but the space, 
The narrow space, of all he claimed below, 
Where the stern tyrant slept Death's iron sleep, 
To wake no more, but in the realms of Night ; 
Heard ye th' oppressor's groan ! oh ! had the Kings 
Of Earth their radiant diadems adorned 
With trophies of celestial Peace, and spurned 
The cruel grandeur of relentless war, 
And mad, and wild Ambition ; had the race 
Of nations the degrading love of gold 



129 

And Avarice despised ; content had ruled 

The globe, temptations failed, and all our snare* 

Been fruitless to condemn the tribes of Man. 

Hear ! Angels ! hear the agonizing screams 

Of mortals, as the eddying fire around 

The base of Achim bears their struggling forms ; 

There float the murderous conquerors, there the crowds 

Whose pride or avarice, hatred, or revenge, 

Embittered life, and on their dying bed 

Fixed deep the thorn Remorse ; there, all that loved 

The world's seduction, careless of their God, 

Embracing crime, for pleasure, or renown : 

Now, sad Remembrance to the fainting heart 

Unfolds the scroll of long-forgotten vice, 

And vile contempt, and biting shame unite 

To engraft their pangs : for these had known their Lord 

And heard in vain the message of the grace 

Which shed Immanuel's blood, when he from heaven 

Descended, to redeem the sons of Earth. 

There, shriek the millions that obeyed the world 

Arm. R 



130 

Against their nobler judgment : last and worst 

Of human beings, jell the hated race 

Of priestly hypocrites ; the damned bane 

Of their whole kind : who vowed to minister 

With conscience clear, and head, and hand, and heart, 

Obedient only to their Lord, with thoughts 

Fixed on this dreadful day, and in the sight 

Of God, and angels vowed ; then, lied to heaven, 

And, Man regarding, pleased a frivolous age, 

Full of themselves, and covetous of praise. 

These, when the parting soul looked on the past 

With terror, trembling at the future wrath, 

And, bordering on both worlds, their Pastor sought 

For comfort and support ; these, with false tongue, 

Flattered the parting soul, until the dart 

Of Death, deep-quivering in the anxious breast, 

Disclosed the horrors of th' infernal scene, 

With execrations on their faithless guides. 

Thanks to your treacherous arts ! though many a curse 

Rest on your heads, though, on this day of woe, 



131 

Back on yourselves your anguished thoughts recoil, 
And tortured thousands ban your hated names. 
Gaze, Demons, on their woes : the self-same power 
Has sworn on us to execute his wrath 
In Judgment. Lord, and Sovereign of our host ! 
On thee we call : say, shall we range our tribes 
High on the verge of Hell, and dare the God ? 
Borne on our fearless pinions leave the deep ? 
Or, plunging downwards to the realms of Hell, 
Explore new worlds, and fix our empire there ? 
Assist our fainting counsels ! Chieftain, rise ! 
Mature our hopes, Immortal Hierarch ! 
Teach us to follow, where our monarch soars, 
And lead us on to Victory, and to Heaven !" 

He spake ; but, long in pensive stillness sate 
Th' assembled Fiends, revolving anxious thoughts 
Of pardon, peace, and war, th' Almighty's power, 
Heaven lost, and Hell their refuge ; all the past 
Rebellion and discomfited Revenge ; 



132 

While stern remorse, and dread of future pain, 

More sad, more lasting, their reflecting minds 

Lashed into madness, and constrained their thoughts 

To clamorous utterance. Suddenly arose 

The universal uproar, and the damned 

Writhed in new torments, as the echoing noise 

Poured through the distant caverns. " Chieftain ! rise r ! 

Oh! rise, great Potentate ! direct our schemes 

Of vengeance, ease, and freedom ; thee alone 

We worship, thee alone we trust to guide 

Thy hosts to Heaven's great empire, to our thrones 

Of former glory in th' abode of day. 

Rise, Chieftain ! rise !" they said ; and, to the height, 

Where, veiled in clouds, and darkness, sate their King, 

In mockery of the majesty of God, 

With longing gaze they turn, to hail their Lord, 

And silent wait his presence ; all was still, 

Until again th' impatient cry was heard, 

" Rise ! we adjure thee ! sanction our designs, 

Make known thy will, and fix our wavering plans !" 



133 

Then, the proud Fiend, rejoicing in the sound 

Of reverence, loyalty, and conscious love, 

Forth from the mantling terrors of the gloom, 

Rose like the morning star ; elate with joy, 

And dignity of strength, and hope renewed. 

His eye retained its lightning, and his front, 

Serene, and tranquil, spake th' undaunted soul 

Of that unyielding majesty, that dared 

Unutterable deeds : Sublime he reared 

Above their golden thrones his dazzling crest, 

A towering God, among a host of Kings, 

Conspicuous; as, amid the splendid train 

Of great Orion, and the living fires 

Of Night's empyreal equipage, that gild 

The glowing pole, the bickering Comet flings 

Through the blue vault, around the dome of heaven, 

The new magnificence ; so, 'mid his Peers, 

Still glorious, the Archangel stood ; nor aught 

Was wanting to perfection in that form, 

The noblest once that from th' Almighty's hand 



134 

Sprang into being, but th' immortal charm 
Of Peace and Innocence ; now, on his brow, 
Blind shame, and faint repentance, mad remorse, 
Keen self-reproach, despair, and hate, and grief, 
Engrave their pangs, rage in his bleeding heart, 
And turn to agony the lingering smile 
Of hope, and scorn : he, mid the rising storm 
Of struggling passions, to his anxious Chiefs, 
In act to speak, high waved his glittering spear, 
And scornfully, with angry glance to heaven, 
Shook his dark wings, looking and breathing war. 

" Friends of my toils ! Once more Ambition calls, 
Bids us deserve success, and seek revenge 
On that supernal Majesty, who swore 
To bind our hosts on Armageddon's plain, 
In pageant triumph to the crowds of Heaven. 
This was the harsh decree ! say, shall we bow 
In silence to th' irrevocable doom ? 
No ! let him see the invincible resolve 



135 

To brave his vengeance, dare his mightiest wrath, 

Present our fearless millions to the storms 

Of war, and spurn his thunder, till our arm 

Uproot the gorgeous pillars of the skies, 

Tear every constellation from its sphere, 

And whelm his great creation ; till the stars, 

Mingling in one tremendous ruin, form 

An ever-during mass of central fire. 

Bound, like his creatures, by resistless laws 

Of chance, and stern necessity ; his Will, 

As ours, submissive to superior power 

Of everlasting fate, and fortune, bows, 

And owns their firm controul ; perhaps, that Fate 

Hath destined us to triumph o'er the Heavens ; 

Perhaps, great Nature, in her endless round, 

Ordains our empire o'er the realms of day, 

And God resists in vain the fixed decree. 

My voice is then for war ; let that decide 

Which of the armies that divide the world 

Shall call their Chief, Eternal, Infinite : 



136 

Now shall the war, the eventful war begin : 

Thou, Brahma, with Cherubic Ithream, 

To yon deserted worlds your journey take, 

And, soaring through th' empyreal ether, choose 

Some mighty Star, of bulk more ponderous 

Than the proud Sun, which rules the fallen Earth ; 

There where some struggling Comet slowest moves, 

Tear the vast Giant from its former Lord, 

Hurl its fierce splendors through the dark-blue depths, 

And dash it flaming through the solar walk 

Round a new Lord, compelled to disarrange 

The planets, and consume the rolling Earth. 

This will begin our desolating work, 

Earnest of full success ; the fiery sign 

Of battle to the hosts of Heaven, and Hell ; 

Nor wait we here the coming of the foe ; 

Arise, ye Chieftains ! bid our powerful tribes 

Collect their countless millions, and again 

Prepare for War ! myself will lead them on, 

Their guardian God, to Armageddon's realms/* 



137 

He spake; and loud the echoing shouts of joy 
Rose from the thronged battalions, as they heard 
Their monarch's voice for arms ; in hope renewed, 
They spurned submission, and ignoble peace, 
Deceived by falsehood still ; nor knew the truth, 
That God is Nature, and all Nature God, 
Trusting to Fate, to quell the Lord of Fate. 
Swift down the craggy steep the heralds pour, 
And bid the Chiefs their seven-fold ranks arrange 
In all their shining orders, and provide 
For second contest, worthy of themselves. 
Wildly they breathe revenge ; and threatening, lift 
Their blazing ensigns in the vaulted dome, 
Tumultuous : as when lightnings o'er the Earth 
The forests of some far-spread Continent 
Fire ; the roaring of the wind, and flames, 
Through the long valleys, bending their wild way, 
Redden the midnight firmament ; so, round 
Th' o'erarching concave of resounding Hell 
They spread, and hail with eager cries their Chiefs 

Arm. S 



138 

That move superior ; as the radiant stars 
In glory differ, mid our azure skies. 
And now, assembled in their varied ranks, 
Before the Apostate's self, they pass ; begin 
Their venturous flight, and to the throne of God 
Aspire, by pride, and treachery misled, 
In joyful confidence of high reward. 

First, came th' inferior tribes of Teraphim, 
The fearful shapes, and unimagined forms 
That haunt the restless murderer, when Affright, 
Soul-harrowing, stalks around th' unquiet bed, 
Points to the bleeding wounds, or wildly glares, 
And, yelling, as the guilty slumberer starts 
From the wild dream of horror, glides away. 
. Here towered the ghastly monster, that alarmed 
The Lusian Wanderer, when his shattered bark 
The stormy windings of the Cape explored : 
Forth from the swelling deep, above the flood 
Th* enormous phantom rose ; with livid cheek, 



139 

And hair wide-floating on the sudden blast, 

As his dark brow, and withered front declared 

His inward torment, and appalling fires 

Shot from his eye, as from some deepened cave : 

And, loudly echoing o'er the watery waste, 

His voice was heard, cursing the daring crew 

That on the tempests of his reign encroached, 

And, with the whirlwinds, mixed their human tones 

To vex his solitude. There, too, were seen 

The forms that roved amid the nodding groves 

Of Arden, when the bold Rinaldo sped 

His still, and lengthened way ; a female shape, 

Covered with ever-waking eyes, and armed 

With snaky hair, whence a blue serpent curled 

In rearing spires upon her marble neck ; 

Swift as an eagle darted on her prey, 

Hurling the monster at the Hero's breast, 

That piercing through the thick, and folded mail, 

Shrunk cold and noisome on his beating heart ; 

Now o'er his pale face glistening, now, his helm, 



140 

Now o'er his bending head, the Fury twines 

Resistless ; fast he flies, or stops, or writhes, 

Kneels, runs, or stands, or howls aloud, or groans 

In agonv, still the dread monster chilled 

His freezing bosom, till the stranger Knight 

Wielded his massy club, and smote the fiend 

And conquered, as disdain th* envenomed tongue 

Of slanderous Envy. Here the fiencl appeared, 

(Th* Italian Master viewed, whose lofty song 

In Epic numbers sang Jerusalem freed, 

And rescued from the turbaned Saracen ) 

With horns, and front of horrid majesty, 

With clotted hair, and wide and ravenous mouth, 

Deformed, and foul with blood, whence smoke and flame 

In mingled torrents, as from Etna, poured : 

Here, the wild forms th* imagination roused 

Of him, that saw the three-fold worlds, and told 

Of things too horrible for mortal ear, 

When fancy painted the tremendous Fiend, 

Whose outstretched shoulders bore six shadowy wings, 



141 

And raised on every wing a Gorgon face, 
Burning with varied passions ; maddening rage. 
Wan sorrow, and dull rancour's sullen hue, 
And gnawing envy, racked at others' bliss ; 
The ponderous jaws of each enormous head 
The bodies of the mangled slain devoured 
Disgustful, and the horrid crash was heard 
Mid the loud roar of the infernal World ; 
As in the tumult of Britannia's wars, 
On the broad ocean raving, oft were seen 
Contending ships uniting, fiercely close 
In fury, hurling from their sail-clad yards 
The dauntless mariner ; then instant part, 
Quick-meeting, and between their pitchy sides 
Their falling victims crush ; the shrieks of death 
Above the uproar of the battle rise, 
And bid unyielding rage a moment pause. 
Then mid the Teraphim approached the Fiends ; 
The dark, bold genius of th' Athenian bard 
Pourtrayed ; the flying Furies, that pursued 



142 

His Mother's Murderer to the holj fane, 
Apollo's prostrate suppliant, and alarmed 
The sacred Priestess, when the baffied troops 
Slept in the hallowed temple, and their prej 
In broken dreams with frightful noises chased, 
As the stern ghost of Clytemnestra stalked, 
And roused them to revenge ; then did they wake, 
And the loud choral song began, and vowed, 
By night's dark canopy, to rack his soul, 
And, frantic bounding, with loud clamors yelled 
O'er the blood-stained Orestes. All that bards 
In Runic legends ; all the countless shapes 
That murky Superstition conjures forth 
From darkness ; all that Eastern tales relate 
Of magic, floated with th' inferior tribes ; 
A crowd of hateful, and revolting forms, 
Enormous, monstrous, loathsome, horrible. 

- 

Then, next in order, dignity, and power, 
Advanced the great Chemarim, skilled in fight 



143 

To rush on nooler beings, and elude, 
Amid th' opposing lines, their watchful foes, 
Varying with unsuspected art their frames. 
As, when Rinaldo drew his righteous sword 
Th' enchanted wood to hew, the lovely arm 
Of fair Armida clasped th' heroic Youth, 
With female blandishment, and sought in vain 
To win him from the purpose ; changed arose 
An earth-born Briareus, with hundred hands, 
While fearful cries, and rising thunders shook 
The frighted grove ; so, in unnumbered shapes, 
Full on the host of heaven they pour, and dare 
Th' Archangels' strength ; now, as a meteor light, 
High o'er the van they shine ; then, quickly fall 
As dew-drop, on firm rock ; now, scream aloud 
On eagle wings ; now, soothing as a friend 
Their treacherous steps allure ; then, silent hide 
Their darkling figures, and with shouts attack 
Th' unwary ranks ; now, softly gliding, soar 
As vapour, and descend as ponderous hills 



144 

To crush their hostile and astonished foes. 

With proudest confidence inspired, they trust 

Th' Eternal eye t' escape ; and, crouching, rest 

Their floating tribes, in atoms on the rocks 

Of Armageddon, to evade the bolt 

Of wrathful justice on their rebel heads. 

Fools ! not to know with God that small, and great, 

Are not ; God always is God, every-where, 

In every atom of his Universe. 

And, now, advanced the Angels, (those who gave 
One common name to all the sons of heaven,) 
Boasting unutterable strength to hurl 
Vast continent, or mountain, to o'er whelm, 
Beneath their cumbrous mass, the adverse hosts. 
" I," said the Godhead of the Heathen World, 
" My golden chain cast from Olympus' height, 
And bid th' inferior Gods their prowess try, 
And all their might put forth to tear me down ; 
Then will I leave the Ocean, and the Earth, 



145 

Securely laugh at the collected weight, 

And force, and power of Deities, and men, 

And round Olympus bind the pendent World." 

How vain his boast ! the meanest of these ranks 

Had drawn the golden Sun, and all its train 

Still moving in their spheres, about their Lord 

On High, and dashed them through the fields of space ; 

Fill Uranus' great orb from side to side 

With one unlimited, and ponderous bulk, 

That all the planets, and their moons combined, 

And spreading distances of every globe ; 

Such are the rocks on Armageddon's plain. 

This, with its heavy crags, and mountains, poised 

Upon their nervous arm, their power would raise, 

And hurl along th' incalculable mass, 

To shake the star-filled Universe, and roar 

Descending, till th' oppressive ruin fell 

Plunged in the surface of the central World. 

In humble silence to their mighty Chief 

Their lofty figures pass in stillness by, 

Arm. T 



-146 

To him submit their endless strength, and bow. 
And own the dread pre-eminence of mind. 

The gay, and gorgeous Seraphim appeared 
Clad in refulgent mail, with outstretched wings, 
With clanging armour, and far-beaming crest, 
In graceful flight, and, turning to their Lord, 
Their golden curls, hither, and thither, waved 
Upon their polished neck; and all the host 
Throng to admire their grand and matchless forms 
Again embattled for the coming war. 
Rich in transcendent loveliness they move, 
Rearing on high their glittering swords, and speak 
Inveterate blasphemies, to please their King, 
Against th' Omnipotent ; alike renowned 
For beauty, and fierce hatred of their God ; 
By utmost guilt, they hope t' erase the thought 
Of former love in their admiring hymns ; 
Zealous in vice, as virtue, and pervert 
What once adorned them most to basest shame. 



147 

As, when the two-fold ring that girds the mass 

Of Saturn, else his brightest ornament, 

Spangled with moons, oft shades his beamy pride, 

Veiling the lustre of his distant globe, 

Rolling in realms remote ; so, the great mind 

From grandeur fallen, and covered with disgrace, 

Corrupts its finer powers, and, proudly bad, 

Exults in wickedness, and none than these 

More loudly triumphed, mid the Lords of Hell, 

O'er wretched mortals. Here appeared the Fiends 

That lulled to luxury the willing soul, 

And all the snares of false refinement tried, 

Or, soothing flattery, and the pleasing guile 

Of gay security, till ruin frowned, 

And dashed the cup of pleasure from the lips. 

With these drew near, the tribes that bound the East 

In Error, till the conquering Briton broke 

The Idol's shrine ; Brahma, with Indra came, 

And thou, Bhavani, many-named, arose, 

In female form revered, refulgent Queen 



148 

Of orient nature, and the fertile banks 
Of India's flowing streams ; then, followed slow 
Narayen, that inspired th' enraptured breast 
"With mystic theories, and taught mankind, 
One being only rules the Universe ; 
Fountain of Life ! from him creation sprang ; 
And all the fair appearance of the heavens, 
And Earth, are fancied images alone, 
Stamped on the eye of man ; while every sense 
Perceives the multiplied, the obvious God, 
The sole Eternal Mind, that guides, and fills 
The mighty wonders of th* unreal World. 
Material things are not : he, sovereign Mind, 
Bends the vast Planets, spangles every leaf 
With morning dew, adorns the mountain sides, 
Whose summits mingle with the Evening cloud, 
Or, paints the glories of declining suns. 
Mind spreads the Ocean, Mind expands the sky 
With azure, and extends the grassy lawn, 
Perfumes the fields, thrills in the linnet's song, 



149 

And gives the numerous visionary dreams 

To Man's observing view ; God is that Mind, 

True source of perfect good, pervading soul, 

Inspiring, cherishing, supporting all, 

Through life's unbounded, unsubstantial modes ! 

Then came the Goddess-Queen, Pedmala fair, 

Churned from the milky sea, when Vishnu reigned, 

Preserving monarch on this lower sphere, 

Incarnate twice among the sons of men, 

A God, though human ; thee, his honored bride, 

The varied Seasons loved, but most the realms 

Where Brahmaputra decks the rice-tilled plains: 

Convulsed by Power divine, the gathering ooze 

On ocean's surface swam, and mid the foam 

Thyself in tenderest Infancy appeared, 

And instant gained thy prime : while from thine eyes 

The liquid radiance beamed, and every wave 

Played with thy flowing and luxuriant hair, 

As rising from the surge the Lotos breathed 

Its balmy fragrance o'er thy graceful shape, 



150 

And bore thee, where immortal Vishnu stood 
On India's spicy shores : then joyed the Earth, 
O'erspread with ripening corn, and rocks, and hills, 
Replenished, celebrate the nuptial day 
And hail in plenty their Protector's name. 
Elate with hope, Ganesa, Ganga, passed, 
And Surya, Monarch of the golden Sun, 
That drove his car refulgent round the Earth 
From morn to eve : Cuvera, God of wealth ; 
And Seres waty ; him the Brahmin deemed 
Celestial parent of each wonderous art, 
The fairy pencil, or the living stone, 
That mocks the silent gazer ; (arts divine 
Of soft refinement and declining states ;) 
Nor less fair Poesy obeyed his sway, 
Though Western bards his chosen sons excelled ; 
And all the strains of Harmony confessed 
His will, when, rapt in Brahma's holy bowers, 
The notes of melody first round him poured, 
Soft- wandering on the mild and tranquil breeze : 



151 

Then, the young Passions started into life, 
To rule o'er unborn nations ; then, arose 
Exhilarating Joy, with pining Grief, 
At consolation spurning, anxious Fear 
Distrustful, and contempt, with half-closed eyes, 
Confiding Hope, untaught by others' woe, 
Life's constant patron : Anger, Lord of hate, 
With Pity, slow to punish or revenge, 
Melting at every pang. Candarpa next, 
And great Vrihaspati, who ruled the orb 
Of sovereign Jove, amid the solar train. 
These, with the rebel Seraphim, appear, 
And, bending onward round the ponderous base 
Of Achim, bow obedient to their Chief. 

So pass the Seraphim : and, quick behind, 
The dazzling ranks of Cherubim succeed, 
That never from th' infernal world had soared 
To Earth, or Nature's realms ; content to wait 
In stern and gloomy pride th' expected day 



152 

Of second combat with th' Eternal King, 
In sullen silence, brooding on revenge. 
Now, panting for the fight, on high they rose, 
Each in his radiant chariot from the deep, 
Above the vexed and burning regions borne 
By Griffon forms, submissive to their Lords, 
That stretch their spacious pinions, rear their heads, 
With gold and purple beaming fearfully, 
Reflected from the reddening flames of Hell, 
And plunging onward, with incessant flight, 
Shake their exalted crests, and wave their wings s 
Pleased to forsake the sad and dreary bounds 
Of the dark dungeon of six thousand years ; 
While each great master, leaning from his car, 
Brandished his fatal spear, in fierce reply 
To Satan, where on Achim's precipice 
He gazed, exulting in their war-like tribes, 
That disappear among the distant clouds. 

Then, slowly followed the Archangel ranks, 



155 

In radiant chariots of embodied light, 

With sweeping scythes of lasting adamant 

All armed ; conducted by tremendous shapes 

Of serpent race, that lift their pliant length, 

Mightier than those which northern bards relate 

Gird the stupendous globe ; and winding on, 

Bend as the Ganges, by the Angels seen, 

As watchful o'er the Earth they guard mankind : 

So glide the horrors of their writhing scales, 

In spiry volumes soaring from the deep ; 

In dreadful play, their triple tongues they dart, 

That glittered in the chariot's silver rays 

Of purest light ; or, circling round their Lord, 

In loathsome blandishments, they hiss their love, 

Or, mounting onwards, nod their dancing crests, 

That quivering shook upon their towering heads ; 

And, curling with their vast and mazy folds, 

Their scaly armour rattled ; lurid sparks 

Shot wildly from their fixed and fiery eyes 

In sparkling fury, oft their arching necks 

Arn>. U 



154 

They turn ; and richly on their chequered breasts 

Black spots, and burnished gold uniting shone, 

Of, blended with the rainbow hues, that deck 

Their polished sides ; in equal ranks, they pass 

Unbroken, and majestic, as they bear 

The great Archangels from the torrid soil, 

To curse the realms of day, and light of heaven. 

The proud and powerful Hierarchs now appeared j 
First of the tribes that in the world above 
Adored Jehovah's name ; and mindful still 
Of former happiness, remember Heaven, 
Mourning in fierce indignant hate their doom. 
High on their splendid thrones, the Chieftains rode 
Each in his orb of rolling fire, that moved 
Instinct with life, around th' Apostate Lords, 
Scattering their spacious beams to veil the Chiefs 
Of this great Monarchy from vulgar gaze. 
"With Hell's black thunder armed, and trembling flame 
Of mimic lightnings, the proud legions hastes 



155 

In fading glory clad, eager to cast 

'Gainst high Omnipotence the raging bolts 

Of wrath, and anguish, their stern frames endured, 

Impatient to oppose Almighty Power : 

In slow, and awful pomp, they move along 

Unutterably bright ; but, far above 

Their utmost splendor, shone the mighty form 

Of Satan ; him, exulting Cherubim, 

On sounding pinions, bore ; and, round him, flowed 

The shadowy radiance of the lower world, 

In dark pavilion of infernal gloom, 

And mystic fire ; he from the floating clouds 

Looked forth as lightning in the gathering storm. 

Far shone the diadem around his brow, 

And joyous hope laughed in his kingly eye, 

EfFusing strength, and loftiest confidence 

Of greater fame, throughout the rebel crew, 

Proceeding onwards, in well-ordered ranks, 

To Hell's extremest verge ; and all the Damned 

Survey the demon myriads as they rise, 



156 

Above the fiery ocean of th 5 abyss, 
And seek the confines of created space. 
As, if some musing habitant of Earth, 
Among the stars should raise his wondering eye, 
To range their beauties, suddenly beholds 
The host of heaven desert their ancient orbs, 
And parting from the regions of his sky 
Fly to the realms of distance, to adorn 
Remoter scenes, and leave our azure fields, 
Devoid of all their honors, one drear space 
Of empty darkness ; so, the hateful train 
Ascending, pass from view, and silent night 
Poured its new horrors o'er the sinful dead. 

The last pale beam had vanished : all was still 
Through Hell's wide Universe, save when the storm 
Of raging fire around the burning rocks 
Still swept its struggling thousands, save the groans 
Oft breaking on the sorrows of despair, 
As unconsumed they shriek ; but, now, arose 



157 

The clang of armour, and the shouts of war, 
The mingled hiss of wings, and the loud oath 
Of every demon, as their furious Chief, 
Amid the glimmering of the fearful bound 
Of Hell and Nature, badeliis legions pause 
Their daring course ; and, pointing where the stars 
Glowed dimly in the distance, proudly spake. 

" Lo, where yon worlds their radiant wonders spread 
A gorgeous banner on th* expanded depths 
Of nature, and allure my hosts to war, 
And glorious toil, while Heaven's refulgent throne 
Gleams in the North, and calls my sons above ; 
Say, shall they call in vain, and spurn our hopes 
Of honor ? oh ! be mindful of your birth, 
And dignity of being ; let not Hell 
Again command its withering fires to curl 
Around our parching frames ; but, let success, 
That binds opinion in the potent chain 
Of conquest, blends the evil with the good, 



158 

And rules the mighty Universe, be ours. 

Say, shall your King invite you to the war, 

Yon systems shine, and Earth have sinned in vain t 

Oh ! by your names, your home, your honors lost, 

Your past renown, your longings for revenge ! 

Rouse your whole terrors for the coming fight, 

Not in one fierce impetuous assault 

Of zealous courage, easily fatigued, 

To faint, and be renewed, as human strength ; 

Be every dauntless, and immortal form 

A sacred temple, every Chieftain's soul 

Its guardian Deity ; then Gods with God 

May persevere, and equal thunders roll 

From equal hands along th' astonished sky ! 

Then, shall the regions of th' unpeopled Earth, 

The countless glories of yon starry space, 

The sainted myriads of the sinless worlds, 

The arms, the chariots of th' ethereal host, 

And pomp, and glory, and renown be your's ; 

Your's this great Universe, or, ceaseless Hell V 



159 

So spake the fiend ; the applauding rebels wave 
Their blazoned ensigns, and aloud blaspheme. 
" Where do thy thunders sleep, Eternal Lord, 
That thus we threat thy state, and dare thy might ? 
Now, with one voice we swear ; enrol our oath 
Above, nor longer let thy vengeance rest, 
If Power be still with thee. Hear, hear our vow ! 
By all the memory of our former bliss, 
By all the torment of six thousand years, 
By sad despair of thy forgiving love 
Withheld from Demons, but bestowed on Man ! 
By all our hopes, our plans of sweet revenge, 
By Heaven, by Hell, by thee, by our own lives, 
Great monarch, do we swear to pierce the veil 
Of nature, and extending our broad wings 
O'er all thy fair Creation, to ascend 
Thy throne invisible, exalted God ! 
Thence to yon place of anguish to compel 
Our foes, and reign triumphant o'er thy world.' 



160 

The long-continued voices through th' immense 
Of Armageddon echoing, reached the saints. . 
Afar Creation trembles at the oath, 
Heaven hears the coming war, the damned forget to groan. 



END OF BOOK THE FOURTH, 



ARMAGEDDON. 



TBook t&e jriftb. 






Arm. X 



160* 



IN REMEMBRANCE 

OF 

ALMOST PARENTAL KINDNESS, OF GENEROSITY AND 
FRIENDSHIP NEVER TO BE FORGOTTEN, 

THE 

FOUR FOLLOWING BOOKS 

OF 

&rmaget>tJOtt 

ARE INSCRIBED 

TO 

THE REV. G. F. TAVEL, 

LATE FELLOW AND TUTOR OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE, 

BY HIS MUCH OBLIGED AND 

MOST TRULY GRATEFUL FRIEND 

AND SERVANT, 

G.TOWNSEND. 



argument 



The Journey of Ithream and Brahma. 
Ithream and Brahma begin their journey among the stars, to de- 
stroy the Earth — the wonders they meet with — they arrive at 
the central world, which is described — from thence, they proceed 
on their Journey — Ithream inquires into the laws of nature — 
Brahma explains the probable cause of gravitation — they rest on 
the Sun, from which they survey the Earth, and the other Planets 
—Ithream inquires the nature of our planet, and the character 
of its inhabitants— Brahma relates the changes that have convulsed 
our globe— describes Man, as an individual, and as a social being — 
the influence of Ambition and Love on his mind— Man as collected 
into nations. 



. 



ftrmagetoon. 



J3e neath the cloudless sky, at autumn eve, 

The smooth, and green Pacific sweetly smiles, 

And o'er th' unruffled mirror of the deep, 

The stars of heaven shine gloriously, and deck 

The shoreless sea ; when on the silent wave 

Some northern bark glides slow, whose daring prow 

To southern climes before was never bent : 

Up to the firmament the sea-boy turns, 

With curious eye ; scans the blue depths above, 

And bows to view, reflected in the tide, 



166 

The clustering constellations, world on world, 
In ignorant wonder lost ; till Fancy spurns 
The rolling globe, and all is boundless sky : 
So bursting from the confines of the realms 
Of night, and death, the Cherub Ithream gazed 
On the wide plains of nature, star-filled space, 
First seen, and first admired ! before him hung 
The radiant splendors of the God of heaven. 
In all their rich variety, and tired 
His envious eye unsatisfied. " Is this," 
The Cherub cried, " this the created World 
Our Chieftain bids us in revenge destroy, 
Breaking the chain of Deity, that binds 
These glowing orders with his matchless power ? 
Here reigns in truth Omnipotence ; here lives 
Th' Eternal King ; this is the world of God !" 

He could no more : poised on expanded wing, 
Like wandering meteors, rove th' astonished fiends, 
And turn to Armageddon ; that around 



167 

The host of systems its vast concave winds, 
Enfolding Nature in its mighty womb ; 
The chequered lustre of ten million suns, 
In mingling colors, on its surface played, 
With softened rays, upon their silent view ; 
As if the rainbow of our lower sphere 
Diffused its glories through th' expanse of air, 
And arched with one continued beam the sky. 

Then, mid the burning stars they plunge ; the depths 
Of Nature, which, from far surveyed, appear 
A fixed and solid firmament of suns, 
Confused and dis-arranged ; now, nearer seen, 
The skilful grandeur of a God display, 
In endless clusters of ethereal fires, 
Spangling with kindling strata the blue realms 
Majestic ; compassing th J unfathomed heavens 
Around their central and unshaken Lord : 
While every cluster in its mighty self 
Its countless myriads of refulgent globes 



168 , 

Contained, that glittering in the empyreal space, 
Shone each the centre of some gorgeous orb, 
The soul of some great system ; and compelled 
Its wheeling planets by attraction's power, 
Around its weight to move, pouring its light 
In grand profusion on their rapid course. 

And still they hold their progress, till the plain 
Of Armageddon beamed no more : the tents 
Of Nature lay before them, and its deeps 
Beheld and trembled, as the demons pierced 
The bright pavilion, where the stars of God 
Adorn his world : how vain th* attempt of Man 
To trace their changing, intermingling paths, 
In curves unknown to science ! suns round suns, 
And Planets borne round either ! many a bulk 
Of wandering Comets, thrown from world to world, 
Scatter their lightnings through encircling wastes, 
And, quivering in their wonderous orbits, drag 
Their ponderous masses : infinite their laws ' 



169 

Of motion, infinite their glorious forms ; 

Not one but spake supreme Omnipotence 

Of all the constellations, systems, suns. 

That animate Creation : as the fields 

Of Earth, at distance spreading on the view. 

One plain of uniform rich green appear, 

While the long tribe of herbs, and plants, and flowers, 

In all their numerous orders, ranks, and kinds. 

The skill, and wisdom of a God proclaim : 

So, all the grand varieties of heaven 

Declare the monarch that inscribes his name 

On flowers, on Worlds, the Universe, and Man ! 

Still toiling on, through the deserted spheres, 
Swifter than flying light the demons keep 
Their dauntless way ; then, darting through the clouds 
That veil its lovely climes, they cease their course, 
And rest, unheeded, on the star-girt globe. 

Firm, as the throne of God, the central world 

Irm. Y 



170 

Of solid adamant sublimely hung, 

Self-poised among the stars, that moving round 

Th' unutterable mass, magnific steer 

Their flight, as Planets laboring to the East ; 

Here, when th' Almighty King illumed the skies 

With radiance, did his will ordain the court 

Of him the great Archangel, that should rule 

The vast and deep cerulean ; here, appoint 

Th' abode of empire, where ten thousand Lords 

Of heaven's eternal kingdom joyous sped, 

The watchful guardians of fair Nature s realms ! 

And oft, for us, their vernal bowers they left, 

At his command, to shield us in the scenes 

Of life, protect us, when the smiling world, 

With treacherous bait, allured ; or, peace inspired, 

In want, or misery, as the changeling frowned. 

Around the beggar, and the King, alike 

Their sheltering wing extends ; they love the race 

Of mortal Man, and searching every heart 

Bestow the happiness that soothes it most, 



171 

Calling on cheering hope to calm the breasi 
Of anxious grief, or, raising from the Earth 
Our grovelling wishes, point us to the skies. 
Oft did they whisper to the pensive soul, 
Not all the wealth of states, or Fame, or Pride, 
Or Pleasure's glittering joys, or, fading Pomp, 
Or, Beauty's winning smile, or want, or woe. 
Or all the forms, and pangs of agony, 
Can sink, or elevate, th' immortal mind, 
That self-possessed, self-governed, knows its powers. 
Careless of praise, or censure undeserved, 
Enriched with kind benevolence to Man, 
In mute obedience to th' approving God, 
To life resigned, looks humbly on to Heaven, 
With hopes that breathe of the celestial state, 
Where knowledge reigns, and God himself abides. 
Thus did they guard mankind : but here no more 
Their brilliant legions rested, when the fiends 
Beheld its shining atmosphere, that rolled 
Its clouds of light : perpetual spring was here, 



Perpetual day ; the lovely Paradise 

Of all th' angelic squadrons of the heavens ! 

Here, yielding groves, and fields, and all the plants, 

That garnish Earth were seen, though nobler far, 

Than earthly flowers, or groves, their varied tribes 

Appear in kind profusion to delight 

The roving eye ; th' enamelled plains were decked 

With shades unknown to Man ; the seasons poured 

Their mingling beauties, and attempered sweets 

In gay luxuriance, but withheld their storms, 

In fear to violate the calm repose 

That ruled the waving streams, the fragrant air, 

And hills of softest green, that boast the charm 

Of blending Lotos, Amaranth, and Rose, 

And herbs of blooming pride ; the crystal seas, 

By daring barks unploughed, were richly gemmed 

With sparkling colors of ten thousand flowers, 

Deep rooted in the mild unruffled beds, 

That bound with silver edge the painted plains, 

Reflected on the bright and silent tide : 



173 

The lustre-beaming atmosphere above 
Shone on the peaceful ocean, and illumed 
The blue foundations of the glassy depths, 
Or, played among the foliage, that adorned 
The verdant gulphs ; the ripening fruitage swelled, 
And round the solitary arbors twined : 
The pendent blossom and the opening bud 
Profusely scattered o'er the bended boughs 
Their grateful sweets ; th' united seasons danced 
Round the deserted scene, and graced the bowers, 
In every shadowy vale, with every hue, 
And fairest broidery of great Nature's hand. 

Oft, on the spacious meads, the lofty towers 
Of many a sceptred Hierarchy were seen, 
In dazzling splendor darting o'er the plains 
Refulgent light, that trembling as it rose, 
Betrayed the diamond's blaze, and sparkling beam 
Of golden topaz with the rubies' blush, 
While the green emerald mellowed the full flame, 



174 

And gave the eye to dwell upon the pile 

Unwearied and the sumptuous walls admire. 

Firm on the precious soil, or in the sea, 

TV angelic portals shone ; unmade by hands, 

TV obedient mansions spread, like Autumn mists. 

Each at his master's will, in every shape 

Their sovereign Fancy bade ; above the art 

Of mortal architects, the sparkling towers 

Were framed ; the Demons o'er the structures rove, 

Alike forgetful of their long-lost Heaven, 

The lower world, and their great Chiefs command ; 

Th J unfading flowers they love, the genial breeze, 

And all the beauties of the blest abode, 

And lost in transport, bathe in every gale, 

Wafting new rapture o'er th' enchanted sense. 

Thus far the rebel Chieftains winged their way 
Around the central Paradise, and, now, 
At that vast mountain paused, where once the Power 
Celestial, Elasah, his counsels held, 



175 

High on the Northern point ; where nearest heaven 

His favored guard, the chosen Seraphim, 

Attended, listening to th' inspiring songs 

Of all the sinless Cherubim, that watch 

Their destined worlds, and hymned their common God, 

The flying clouds, upon the green ascent, 

Reposed their changing forms in fleecy waves, 

That parted, as the venturous demons sought 

The mountain's utmost height, and unfatigued, 

Pursue their course, to seek the rolling Earth. 

Again they plunge among the world of stars, 
Continuing still harmonious to the law 
Their Maker gave ; and, still the Cherub gazed 
In endless wonder ; and, astonished, spake. 

" Friend of my heart ! oh ! say, what mighty arm 
Supports the masses of these glorious orbs, 
That thus their path they keep, nor star with star, 
Nor planets, as they move, with planets clash 



176 

In one resistless ruin. Where the home 

Of Man, that thus we wander through the spheres 

In quest of Earth ; when shall our journey end ?" 

Thus Ithream spake ; and Brahrna made reply ; 
" In vain my laboring mind essays to trace 
The wonderous Deity through all his works ; 
Yet Fancy oft hath soared where Science fails, 
And, thus, in doubtful flight, would aim t' unfold 
The laws that bind this mighty Universe : 
When first the God of Nature gave command, 
That Armageddon should enclose the stars ; 
Then did he will the properties and forms 
Of matter rise obedient, and the law 
Was passed, that body should to body tend, 
And one attractive power preserve the whole. 
Then, from the shores of Armageddon sprang 
Unnumbered atoms smaller than the eye 
Can meet, or fancy's utmost thought conceive : 
Less than the finest particle of light, 



177 

That gives the shape of things ; these, moving on, 
In one perpetual line, from side to side 
Through every point of the long distance steer, 
Proceeding ever ; swifter than the wing 
Of angels, that out-strips the flying ray. 
Then, in the weightless universal flood, 
The central World arose ; on every part, 
With equal .strength the countless atoms press ; 
Compelling, as the first vibrations cease, 
Continual rest ; then, poised upon the fields 
Of ether, sprang, projected through the deep 
By God's all-potent hand, the beauteous worlds, 
That nearest to their central monarch roll, 
Ranged in their strata through the azure waste ; 
By starry clusters followed more remote, 
Till to the boundaries of their space they climb 
Great Nature's circling orb ; on every point 
Th' impelling atoms rush ; turn every mass 
Around its passive centre ; and enforce 
The mute vibrations of the spacious globes, 

Arm. r i 



178 

Their laws of distance fixed, and uniform. 

Thus, round their suns the wandering comets wheel, 

And all the bodies of Existence seek 

The greater ; while th' extended Universe 

Obeys th' attracting and projectile power, 

Till this avenging arm the comet grasp, 

And the wild ruin of the World begin. 

But, now, our way we bend, where yon pale spot 

Far-glimmering shines amid the realms of air ; 

The cluster where the constellations move, 

That met the gaze of mortals ; there, the Sun 

Beams in the galaxy, a meaner star ; 

On that our weary pinions will we rest, 

And view the planets as their course they trace ; 

There, mark with anxious eye the silent Earth 

In its elliptic orb, to hurl aright 

The comet's mass, and make destruction sure." 

So spake the fiend ; and, towards the solar walk, 
They turn, that, now, enlarging to the sight, 



179 

With all its twinkling beauties, glowed ; the Lyre, 

Orion, and the Centaur's bulk were seen, 

With North, and Southern crowns, the Eagle's wings, 

And all that Man discerned in Arctic sky, 

Or Southern hemisphere, though long to tell 

Their numbers, or their names: and, now, they gain 

The studded galaxy, and still advance 

Till Earth's great Lord appears; then, on they plunge, 

Elate with joy, the nobler systems spurn, 

And, with triumphant shoutings, through the deep, 

Descend, exulting, on the golden Sun. 

Where is thy guardian angel ? where, oh Sun ! 
The blessed Cherubim, that once encamped 
Around thy brightest globe, to save thy train 
Of radiant planets from destruction's hour, 
To guard Creation from the wreck of Time, 
And the fell rage of demons ? ever gone 
To yon celestial world, they proudly leave 
The silent masses of material things, 



180 

The sport of Time and Chance ; alike to them, 
And their Almighty Lord, the passive bulk 
Of empty stars, their splendors, and their charms, 
With all the pomp, the majesty, and grace, 
Of varied Nature : Mind alone obtains 
Its Maker's care, the glory of our race, 
Th' eternal angels, and the sinless host ! 
Mind ever lives, immortal, great, and good, 
Though the world's mighty fabric shall decay, 
By God protected, honored, and beloved. 
By all unnoticed, on the Sun they rest, 
That, black and solid, drank the living beam 
Of its own atmosphere, and poured its rays 
On every orb that girt his cheering frame. 
He, like his planets, on his axis, moved, 
Dispersed the clouds above, and, oft, disclosed 
To Earth the darkling soil beneath, that seemed 
As transient spots upon his beauteous sphere ; 
Around him, wheeling in oblique ellipse, 
The crossing planets in th' Aphelion bend, 



181 

With slowest pace ; or, swifter, as they change 
Their varying distance, Westward to the East ; 
Distinguished each by his peculiar light, 
Unaltered ; nearest to the Demons, rolled 
The brilliant globe, surnamed of Maia's son, 
Most rapid of the seven. Phosphor next 
Its splendid forehead raised, the fairest mass 
The sun illumined ; graceful, as the Queen 
Of Love, and radiant, as the sparkling eye 
Of youthful beauty ; with one moon adorned, 
That oft concealed its lustre from mankind. 
Mars, fiery globe, with dull red light, passed on 
Among the brighter stars ; behind them, swept 
The pomp of Jove, in glowing majesty 
Of belts and moons, reflecting the rich glare 
From his rough surface ; while the pale, slow bulk, 
Immense of Saturn, with concentric rings, 
And smaller orbs, swam heavily beyond ; 
And, further still, perhaps, the most remote, 
Dragging his ponderous bulk, and massy moons, 






182 

The torpent Uranus moves dully on. 
Now, on the Zodiac's mighty signs they gaze, 
And all the constellations that complete 
One cluster only of th' unnumbered train 
That fill Creation ; every cluster there, 
With equal, or, superior glory robed. 
Now, to the central world, now, on the plain 
Of Armageddon will their fancy turn, 
Remembering pensively that all they see 

Form the least part of God's great Universe. 

" Perchance/' they cry, " beyond the star-filled world* 

Some other modes of beings may exist, 

Alike by Angels, or by fiends unsoared ; 

By Him alone, the Omnipresent known." 

Thus will the Demons contemplate the works 

Of God ; till, slowly ploughing its great course, 

Along th' aerial path, the Earth appear. 

Soft on its silent poles, our planet glides 

In peace, unconscious of the coming storm. 

_ V n i ^T i -i • i ' ill 

Forth from the .North, around its long-tracked orb, 



183 

What seemed a waving, many-colored flame, 

In graceful radiance flowed, and decked its way 

Perennial, wheeling through the burning signs ; 

The bright reflection of its floating clouds 

Repelled the fiery ray ; and many a space 

Of pure, and tranquil ether, showed its lakes 

And placid oceans, raising high the stream 

Of gentle vapour, that descending shed 

Its dewy tears, as balmy evening veiled 

The Sun's declining glories ; land, and sea, 

Wide-spreading continents of every zone, 

With the pale Moon, that, pouring her rich beams, 

Revolved attendant ; these the Cherub marked, 

In rapturous delight, and, to his friend, 

With reverence, pointing to our planet, spake. 

" Th' unpeopled Earth, so long th' abode of Man, 
The pendent Moon, the Planets, and the stars, 
I see : yet once again thy stores unfold 
Of knowledge, and the wondrous tale relate 



184 

Of yon terrestrial globe, and of mankind. 
In wild surprise, I heard of every world 
That fills Creation, when our Monarch burst 
The dark imprisonment of Hell, and pierced 
The starry mansions ; oft of nations heard, 
Of tyrants, and the triumphs of our friends, 
Of vice implanted, and of ruined souls. 
With equal joy, the tortured race I saw, 
Plunged in the fiery gulph, condemned to groan 
For ever there ; by God Himself condemned, 
Their Maker ; but the confines of the deep 
I ne'er with all the Cherubim have left, 
To view the realms of Nature. Oh ! then, say, 
What changes have convulsed yon rolling ball, 
And what the history of the being Man. 
Oh ! tell his springs of action, what the spots 
On Earth's round surface, Ocean, sea, or land, 
And what the nations once existent there ?" 

" Now to the past," shall Brahma make reply, 



185 

" My soul looks back, while sad remembrance draws 

The veil of silence from th' events of Time ; 

Now, the long shadows of forgotten years, 

Through all their ages, rise, in dim array, 

Before my pensive mind, and loud proclaim 

The coming moment, when th' Eternal God 

Shall whelm us by his power. Time must end, 

And all the stars decay, and evil fall 

On every demon-votary that resists 

Th' immortal arm ; but, let destruction come. 

The mighty devastation, that our strength 

Shall cause, may charm the agonies of pain, 

And soothe the anguish of unending woe. 

Now hear the story of yon favored globe, 

The human mind, the Nations that possessed 

Its various climes, as memory may recal 

The pride, the hopes, and follies, of mankind. 

The shining stars around obeyed the voice 
Of God, with air their planets, and adorned 

Arm. 2 A 






186 

The plains of nature, and, among them, moved 

Around the splendid sun that bears our forms, 

Yon atom of Creation, conquered Earth. 

On all his works th' Almighty Maker breathed 

The breath of life, and forth, on every sphere, 

To light, and joy, unnumbered beings sprang, 

To share the mercies of th' approving God, 

Exulting in the sinless majesty 

Of new existence, and the birth divine. 

Then, Man arose : blest was the pristine Earth 

Beyond our utmost fancy to conceive 

Of beautiful, and rich ; the seasons poured 

Their choicest treasures at their sovereign's feet, 

And Love, delighting in his new domain, 

The roseate bowers prepared, and hailed the morn 

Of Man s espousals ; then, th' enamelled ground, 

With flowers and fruits, to later days unknown, 

"Was spread ; the mighty Mammoth on the plains 

Reclined his harmless bulk, where'er the stream 

Invited ; all was Paradise and joy, 



187 

Till Truth and Innocence forsook the groves 
Of Eden, when of the forbidden fruit 
The Patriarch ate, and, on his offspring, passed 
The threatened sentence of mortality. 

Two thousand years, the primal Earth retained 
Unvarying Spring, and its smooth surface smiled 
Unbroken. Then, th' obedient Angels hurled, 
At God's command, whose sovereign vengeance claimed 
The hardened race his Mercy could not move, 
The black and watery comet, to compel 
Th' unwilling Poles aside, and turn the mass 
Of the whole cumbrous Planet from its course. 
Swift o'er the drowning realms the ocean swelled ; 
In ceaseless storms, the bursting torrents fell, 
And every isle and continent was lost 
Beneath the raving flood, that furious rolled 
Its giant waves in triumph o'er the globe, 
Untopped by mountains, unconfined by shores. 
Now, the vast deep was calmed ; the waves retired, 



188 

And Angels wept, when they beheld the World 
Rise, in disfigured beauty, from the surge, 
And Seas usurp the thrones of deluged Kings, 
The seat of empires, and forgotten states! 
While, journeying on her axle still, the Earth 
A sudden change perceives, increasing now 
Her great Equator, lessening where the Poles 
Yet banish life, and rest the unmelting snows. 
And, still, in strange and mingled heaps are seen 
The sad remains of animals, and Man, 
Of swarming fishes, and th' enormous frames 
Of all the Mammoth tribes that once had breath, 
Embodied in the firm and solid stone ; 
Some on the Mountain's height, some far below 
The weighty soil, or in the river's bed 
Deposited, declare that hour of wrath, 
When the dread storm of Desolation rode 
Upon the wasting Deluge, and o'erwhelmed, 
In one cold grave, the Millions of Mankind. 



189 

Such was the ruin of the abode of Man : 
But who the wondrous contrast of his powers 
Can tell ? now grovelling in the dust, now high 
On wings of Fancy, or of Science borne 
Up to th* eternal throne ; what tongue describe 
The lonely being, or the social tribes ; 
Or, how united hosts in Nations met, 
And governed, or possessed, the climes of Earth, 
In every age of Time ? First, till the tomb 
Closed on his anxious life, the progress trace 
Of solitary Man ; th' incipient dawn 
Of opening Intellect, with Memory view, 
Unfailing Parent of the perfect mind, 
While ardent Fancy, and young Reason shed 
The pride of being on his glowing soul, 
That panted for the tumults of the world, 
And joys and cares of manhood ; see self-love, 
With high opinion of superior skill, 
Submit in struggling silence, and obey 
Stern custom's laws : while, ignorant of his fate, 



190 

Expectant ever of some future good, 

Or, pondering o'er anticipated ill, 

The various passions revel in his heart ; 

Wild admiration, joy, revengeful hate, 

And mad desire, and frantic sorrow rave 

Alternate, and the cares of hopeless Love 

Rack, in the gloomy frenzy of despair, 

The proud, yet humbled soul ; the bitterest pangs 

That life e'er treasured for the human race, 

Were found in sighs for unrequited love, 

With pride contending in the swelling breast. 

It poisoned every hope of noble Fame, 

Or rising greatness of th' aspiring mind ; 

It dimmed the fire, and lustre of the eye : 

Rifled the roses from the cheek of health, 

And o'er the soul a melancholy joy 

Of languid sorrow breathed, to calm the sad, 

But sweet delirium of declining life. 

Thus intellect, and passion, ruled mankind ; 



191 

By one unbiassed liberty of will 

Directed, guided, and controlled, and formed, 

As Providence to each their lot prepared, 

Or civilized, or savage, or refined, 

The characters of life ; the cruel Chief, 

The patriot statesman, or the slave of power, 

The pale artificer, the warrior's arm, 

The child of laughing Pleasure, and the fool, 

Or grave philosopher, with patient thought, 

Scanning the laws of Nature and its God. 

Some in the flowery paths of fancy strayed, 

Panting for more than mortal excellence, 

Rapt in the visions of enduring Fame, 

Crowned with the laurel, by th* applauding World : 

View them with kindling eye, and bursting soul, 

Sink their proud hearts, and bend their haughty heads, 

To every restless hope, and fancied grief, 

And spurning every humbler virtue, leave 

Th' acknowledged path of honor and renown, 

While Friendship wept in vain, and Dulness smiled 



192 

In wealthy ease, and apathy secure : 

For not th' aspiring thought, th* undying name. 

Or consciousness of merit gave the wreath, 

But goodness, virtue, kind benevolence, 

And meek submission to the common ills. 

Man, in himself, (whate'er his fate) possessed 

The secret source of true felicity, 

Whose mad extremes of passion, or desire 

Of sweet renown, of pleasure, pride, and wealth, 

Obeyed the firm serenity of soul, 

That, Monarch of itself, on God relied, 

Enjoyed the blessings of the fleeting hour, 

Content and grateful for the present good, 

Nor mourned the past, nor feared the future state. 

Next, view the social being ; see his will 
Restrained by reason, and his passions calmed 
By stern Society's dread laws, that bound 
In fetters of opinion every mind, 
And gave to each his station ; while, enlarged, 



193 

By ceaseless rivalry, the ardent breast 

Pined for the wealth and honors of the World : 

There, the warm feelings of enraptured youth, 

And all the flowers of early friendship fade ; 

There, Candor, pleased with all it saw, deceived 

Too soon by specious treachery, sighed to learn 

Mankind's ingratitude, while vile distrust, 

And cold indifference, chilled the heart, that shared 

In every woe, and felt for all its race : 

Now, self alone absorbs them ; love of fame 

The chief, the sovereign, universal wish, 

Through all the pains, the triumphs, and the joys, 

The pomp, the splendor, and the cares of life 

Pursued ; the great, th' immortal principle, 

That, 'mid the ruins of the fall, survived, 

Implanted first to fire the soul of man 

With hopes of God's own presence in the realms 

Of promised happiness; but, now, for this, 

The boards of sordid avarice were piled, 

For this, the Warrior left his home to bleed, 

Arm, 2 B 



194 

For this, the traitor raised rebellion's hand, 

For this, the Earth was traversed, Land and Sea 

Despoiled of all their secret stores, to grace 

The halls of luxury, and declare the wealth 

That claimed the servile knee ; for this alone, 

Pleased with the incense of the crowds they scorned, 

Pride, rank, and greatness, wooed inferior minds; 

For this, gay Folly trifled, and the front 

Of boasting Infidelity assumed 

The mask of liberal candor, and surnamed 

Th' unblushing Patrons of its gloomy creed 

The friends of freer thoughts, than God, or Heaven, 

Or future, or eternal things, inspire : 

And talked of reason, when they spurned her most. 

All sighed for Fame ; yet, not for Fame alone, 
Wide as its influence spread through every rank : 
A softer passion held divided rule. 
Throned on the Earth, the Queen of Beauty waved 
Her golden sceptre o'er the human race, 



195 

Commanding love and reverence to the sway 

Of woman's heavenly grace, and conquering eye: 

Around the soul-subduing Queen, appeared 

The suppliant throng who move in beauty's train, 

And pace her myrtle bowers, there pensive shed 

The secret tear, or raise th' adoring sigh 

In silence, grateful to the lover's breast. 

Low at her feet the Warrior cast his spoils ; 

The sage forgot his precepts, and renounced 

His dull philosophy, when woman smiled. 

E'en proud Ambition owned her mystic power, 

Yielded his fond affection, and resigned 

The envied Laurel, and the valued Palm. 

False as the vows of sickness, when the world 

Deceived her victim, and the turning tide 

Ebbed in its prosperous course, while laughing crowds 

Insulting gloried in Ambition's fall, 

Then, how transporting Beauty's voice and eye, 

To calm th' indignant spirit ! honored most 

In sad Affliction's hour, and skilled to change 



196 

The sob of anguish, and defeated hope 
To tears of new-felt rapture and delight. 
Hard was the heart, that felt not Beauty's sway, 
And dull th* unfeeling soul, that would not dwell 
O" Love's inspiring theme : from every tongue, 
From every heart of man, the prayer was heard ; 
Oh ! for some lovely bride, that smiling bends 
Her graceful head, and whispers happiness 
And Peace, the hour of adverse ills to soothe. 
Or add new lustre to the joys of life ! 

Still, in pursuit of happiness, the tribes 
Of man assembled, bound by common laws, 
And nations rose and fell ; first, Freedom joined 
With gay and hardy Poverty, and tilled, 
With patient industry, the stubborn soil, 
„And clasped alike the sickle and the sword ; 
Till victory reigned with labor ; and young wealth 
Upreared his treacherous and enchanting form, 
By pampered luxury followed, and the Pride 



197 

Of base, corrupt, and coward tyranny ; 

Nor far behind some fierce invader came, 

To stain his iron sword with dastard blood, 

And spoil the gold and splendor that revenged 

The robber Father on his peaceful son. 

Long is the tale, the madness to relate 

That desolated Earth, and plunged in war 

Her states and Monarchies ; Religion's self 

Became the war-cry of the savage hosts, 

That hailed the God of Peace, and rushed to fight, 

With frantic exultation, and blind zeal, 

On those whose faith was different, while their life 

Shamed the fanatic millions that returned 

Their horrid blasphemies of thanks to God, 

For triumphs that had made his Earth a Hell. 

And oft, rebellion raised her daring head, 
Veiled in the borrowed robe, that Freedom wore 
To lure mankind; to bid the people rise 
Slaves to the fear of slavery ! break the laws 



198 

That guard the safety of the common weal, 

And, revelling in destruction, slay their Kings, 

And chase their Nobles from the frighted realm 

To realize their dreams of Liberty, 

And plans of purer governance, with Lords, 

And Princes, spotless in th' imperfect state : 

Alternate Factions bathed the Land in blood, 

Forced, in their turn, to yield ; till faint, and weak. 

The shattered remnant of contending Chiefs 

Submit, in angry silence, to the yoke 

Of some successful warrior, that compelled 

A tame obedience to his despot sword. 

So Pride and Bigotry laid waste the world ; 

While faithful History told the self-same tale 

To every age, and nation ; and the sons 

Of Earth observed, condemned their Father's deeds 

That fought for mad Ambition, and imbibed 

Themselves the same Injustice, to bequeath 

Their own example to the future race. 



199 

Such is the chequered story of mankind ; 
And such the varied follies of the life, 
That glided swiftly on the stream of years ; 
And mingled, as the rivers with the deep, 
Youth, Age y and Manhood, with Eternity. 



END OF BOOK THE FIFTH. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



Xoofe t&e ^irtfn 



Arm. I C 






argument 

The Millennium. 
Brahma continues his narration — points out the Atlantic Ocean- 
America — the Pacific Ocean — Asia— Arabia— Egypt — Africa — 
Europe — Greece— Rome — France — gives an account of the Mil- 
lennium, including the fall of Mahomet and the Popedom— the 
general conversion of the Heathen — the restoration of the Jews- 
Earth recovers its original form, and the general resurrection— I th- 
ream asks the exact situation of our country — inquires the cause 
of its greatness and power— Brahma praises Britain, and enumer- 
ates its blessings, and happiness, under the Monarchs of the house 
of Brunswick. 



&rmagettoon. 



Gay smiles the Spring, gay o'er the spangled fields, 

The flowerets, bursting from their winter graves, 

Scatter their new-born fragrance, and perfume 

The morning breezes, that delight to bend 

The painted blossoms in their gentle tract. 

So shall we rise ; so shall our virtues bloom 

For ever, where the spirits of the great 

And good exult in their eternal home. 

Creation's voice proclaims the sacred truth, 

Man is immortal ! Man alone, high-raised 



206 

Above th' inferior tribes of Earth, declares 

His great Original, scans the dread laws 

That rule his Father's Universe, and holds 

High converse with transcendant Deity. 
See ! how triumphant Reason soars above 

The clouds of life ! how Virtue calmly braves 

The taunts of Vice! how all that Earth affords 

Delights no more ! how every pleasure fails 

That pleased the childhood of our ceaseless race, 

Till Reason's Manhood point to nobler things ! 

How oft fair Science deeply musing stays 

Her weary wing, and, ripening for the skies, 

Unites with Faith and Knowledge, till the hopes, 

And joys of glory burst upon her view ! 

Shall these bright scenes of being pass away, 

Shall all the honored names of old renown, 

Our hopes, our vices, virtues ever die ? 

Shall Milton live no more ? and Newton's eye 

No more behold the wonders of his God ? 

Dull, cold, and loathsome clay, with all our race, 



207 

Shall dread annihilation seal the doom 

Of Man, and close upon the dreams of life? 

Then is the creeping insect, and the worm 

That coils her ringlets on the dewy Earth, 

A Being happier than the reasoning Man, 

And Faith and Hope are vain, and God unjust. 

We shall not mingle with th' insensate clay ; 

Mind is the ruling principle that smiles 

At Death, and all its terrors, prompts, presides, 

Inspires, or mourns, or contemplates, or moves 

Th* obedient body by resistless power, 

In spite of sorrow, comfort, pain, or joy, 

To spurn the rolling globe, and rest in heaven. 

Torn from his weeping bride, the youth recalls 

The fond remembrance of affection's tear, 

The liquid lustre of the azure eye, 

And all th' endearing graces that adorn 

His absent love, while Fancy paints the scene 

Of rapture, when they meet to part no more : 

So Faith delights to dwell on scenes of bliss 



208 

Where we shall live for ever — Time may spoil 
The blooming honors of our youth, and grave 
His mournful impress on our fading forms, 
And Death may claim his victims : but the soul, 
Swift from the cold and solitary tomb, 
On eagle pinions mounting seeks its source, 
Its God, the common Father of mankind. 
Yes ! we shall live for ever ! Life's short years 
May bring their destined trials, cares, and joys, 
And strew the thorns and roses in our way, 
But we shall follow, where the mighty Lord 
Of Man's Redemption, rising from the grave, 
Ascended, pointing to our promised home 
Above, where spirits of the just abide 
In immortality, and perfect love. 

" Still be it mine, the varied tale to tell," 
The Chief continued to his wondering friend, 
" Of Nations, States, and Empires, that possessed 
The now deserted Earth. Bend from thine height, 



209 

And on the wheeling planet turn thine eye 

AVith more attentive gaze, to mark the spots, 

As on the silent globe, from West to East 

The transient regions pass ; yon sapphire line 

That back repels the Sun's meridian ray, 

From North to South upon the pendent ball 

Expanding its full glories, Man surnamed 

The Great Atlantic, once the mighty seat 

Of Continents and islands, ere the pen 

Improved the art, and Memory of Man. 

Long the rude tale in grey tradition lived, 

That o'er th' uncultured waste, from Europe's realms, 

The wandering thousands roved, to fix their tents 

Upon Columbia's plains, and saw the waves 

Of Ocean desolate Atlanta's realms, 

Torn with wild fury from her trembling base : 

See ! where her lands appear, as Earth rolls on, 

A sable speck upon th' horizon's brow. 

Long ere the trumpet of th' Archangel woke 

Arm. 2 D 



no 

The race of Man, from Death's stern sleep, arose 
On the fair regions, where Iberia's sons 
Revelled in murder for the lust of gold, 
Full many an empire, many a mighty power, 
That rivalled in their greatness, and renown, 
The thrones of ancient Europe ; and rehearsed 
Her foulest acts of bloodshed and of war, 
In fierce division of opposing states, 
Successful tyrants, and usurping crowds. 
With more hypocrisj', but equal scorn 
Of justice, and of honor, vain self-love, 
And all the lower passions of the soul, 
Deceit and treachery, avarice, and revenge, 
Alike contending in their baser hearts, 
In rich and powerful, but degenerate states, 
The Northern regions of Columbia spread. 
How shall I name thee right detested Land ! 
Thou most despised by those that knew thee best. 
No generous thought was thine, no patriot love, 
No fond remembrance of the nobler soil 





211 

Whence thy free Fathers sprang ; long did the ami 
And guardian angel of Britannia's isle, 
Thy pale and helpless infancy protect, 
When prowling murderers, and the Gallic slave 
Roused the keen blasts of death, and Savage Chiefs 
Yelled the loud war-cry o'er thy feeble head. 
Then did thy Parent shield thee from the storm, 
And bade thee still be happy, great, and free, 
Beneath her sovereign king, and gentle sway, 
Nor knew the thankless serpent that she nursed, 
Till proud Rebellion raised her giant arm 
Triumphant in success ; Columbia's star 
In that sad moment rose, when Britain's sun, 
Obscured by faction's darkest clouds, concealed 
Her native splendor from the gaze of Man. 

Now, turn thine eye, where brightning to the view, 
Yon broad refulgence of the Ocean beams, 
The spacious girdle of the chequered Earth ; 
The peaceful sea, beneath whose tranquil depths, 



212 

Rest in unbroken majesty, the pomp, 

The wealth, and grandeur of the pristine world, 

And silent monuments, which nations reared, 

Ere yet the whelming deluge swept the tribes 

Of groaning nations to their common grave 

In one tremendous ruin ; like their sons, 

In after days, the ponderous domes they framed ; 

Surveyed the mighty work : and, vainly cried, 

Live, temples of our fame, for ever live, 

Tell your great builders' name from age to age I 

The watery tempest swelled above the towers, 

Nor left one shattered remnant to declare 

Their Fathers' excellence : a fiery flood 

Shall desolate the pride of later years, 

And cold oblivion smile upon the fall. 

Ere arts, and arms, on Europe's plains abode, 
To speak the glory of her matchless sons, 
Then fierce, and barbarous, as th' unpliant soil ; 
In power and wealth yon happy realms were blest; 



213 

The seat of science, and the graceful muse, 

With god-like liberty, and equal laws, 

And honor's lofty throne ; then rose the states 

Of India's golden empire, and the spires, 

And splendid citadels, whose ruins told 

The skill that formed their labored battlements, 

Shining as meteors in the night of time, 

The silent wonders of forgotten days ! 

Revolving centuries rolled : remoter tribes 

Increased in luxury, while corruption breathed 

Her sickening influence o'er the fertile land. 

Oh ! I could tell, how the mad boy of Greece, 

Or, Mahmud's rod, or Timour's iron sword, 

Controlled these lovely regions till the sons 

Of Albion, with her merchant princes, swayed 

The blooming soil, and Brunswick's snow-white Horse 

Pastured in peace upon her choicest flowers. 

Did Britain, like her former conquerors, bring 

The blood-red sword, or raise the savage cry 

Of midnight murderers, or the clamorous shouts 



214 

Of warriors, joyous o'er the trampled dead ? 
No ! ever gentle, merciful, and just, 
She, as their guardian angel, bade them live? 
In tranquil safety, free from every storm, 
Content, protected, happy ; while their hopes, 
No longer fixed on Brahma's tottering shrines, 
Raised, and exalted, sought a nobler heaven, 
In meek dependance on the christian's God, 

The Seres cumbrous Monarchy, the realms 
Of Scythia, and of Persia, all confessed, 
lire this great judgment day, the sovereign Lord, 
Whose truth prevailed on Earth, as Ocean flows 
Above the dark foundations of the deep. 
Still pass the lands of Asia ; there the spot 
Where Israel's prophets hailed in song sublime 
TV expected hour, when God's Messiah gave 
The purest blessing to the human race. 
There the black desert reared th' Apostate Chief 
Mahommed : furious, as a flame of fire, 



215 

To Asia's utmost bounds, to Afric's sands 

And Westward, to Hesperia's lovely shore 

His legions flew, nor sheathed the conquering sword, 

Spite of the holy war-cry that impelled 

The Lords of Europe to Philistia's plains. 

Till vanquished Rome's imperial relics fell. 

And long reposing on Byzantium's towers. 
The fading glories of the Crescent reigned, 
Till the loud screaming Eagle of the North, 
Swift-darting on his weak, and destined prey, 
The time-worn kingdoms rent, and the bold Russ 
"Waved his victorious banner o'er the realm, 

Now rise the sands of Afric ; there the Nile 
Through many an ancient empire spreads, and pours 
Th' abounding blessings of its fertile streams 
To proud Arsinoe, and the Memphian domes, 
Or fair Thebais hundred gates ; renowned 
In early story, while th' unskilful North 



216 

In darkest ignorance lay, nor knew the pride 

Of Egypt's wealthy regions : there the sons 

Enslaved of favored Israel, long endured 

The despot cruelty of Pharoah's line, 

And raised th' aspiring pyramid, and wept 

Unpitied, till their Fathers' God relieved 

The pangs of toil, and freed the captive tribes. 

There ruled the Scythian Conqueror, vainly named 

By servile blasphemy, the King of Kings, 

Sesostris ; there Amasis great, and good, 

The Monarch, whom the Persian Madman strove 

To hurl from empire, raging in his hate 

Of Egypt's varied and unnumbered Gods. 

And many a changing dynasty possest 

The fruitful kingdom, ere the wanton Queen, 

Closed the bright honors of her royal race ; 

* And Rome's proud eagle triumphed, till the sway 
Of fierce Mahommed gave the fated land 

■ A prey to bigot murderers ; then it fell 
Beneath the earlier curse the prophet spake : ; 



917 

No more its vanquished head shall Egypt raise 

Basest of kingdoms ; sordid, mean, and vile, 

Powerful no more among the states of Earth. 

Such was the curse of God ; but later days 

The mad attempt beheld, to lift the head 

Of fallen Egypt ; heedless of the word 

That doomed its wretched millions to be slaves. 

The sword of Britain was the sword of God ! 

To drive the rash invader from the land, 

And tell mankind ; while kings and warriors seek 

Ambition, grandeur, or their country's weal, 

Or good of all their kind ; God at the helm 

Amid the storm of general war presides, 

And guides their toils, their counsels, and their plans, 

Among the billows of tumultuous life, 

Safe to the haven that his Will decrees. 

Nor less where Niger rolls his devious flood, 

Or where the Eastern shores of Afric bend, 

Did Albion break the spirit-wounding chain 

Of Slavery and Oppression, from the necks 

Arm. 2 E 



218 

Of Canaan's sons, and bid their tribes be free, 

To know themselves, and love the Christian's God, 

Beyond the tideless sea that laves the shores 
Of Afric, and the Northern Continent, 
Fair Europe's climes extend, for arts, and arms, 
And soft refinement, famed, above the states 
Of Egypt, or of India, that attained 
Their height of empire, when the barbarous horde 
Of savage chieftains, on these Western realms 
Shared the wild desert with the beasts of prey. 
Spirit of ancient Greece ! mine eye surveys 
Thy deeds of glory through the mists of time. 
Thine were the heroes, thine the statesmen sage, 
And patriot schools of grave philosophy, 
When lesser states obeyed the lenient power 
Of polished Athens, or the graver sway 
Of Sparta, or the boy of Macedon 
That quelled the might of Persia,- as the sons 
Of war-like Cyrus broke in earlier days 



219 

TV Assyrian sceptre ; thine th' unrivalled boast 

Of equal laws, and liberty, and arts, 

That charm the willing sense, the joy of Peace ! 

Thine the full stream of lofty eloquence, 

That breathed persuasion, and aroused the soul 

To pant for freedom, while melodious tones 

Of rolling periods filled the listening ear 

In soft or swelling cadence of rich sounds. 

Nor be thy bards forgotten, that inspired 

The youth of every age, till Time reposed 

His transient centuries in oblivion's gulph, 

To love th' impassioned song, to fire the breast 

With virtue's manly dignity, and hail 

Their country's fame, and glory, as their own. 

While modest courtesy, and noble thought, 

That spurned at baseness, calmed the fiercer mind, 

And taught th' ingenuous bosom to combine 

The pride of honor, and the pleasing arts, 

That formed th' exalted, and the perfect Man. 



&2Q 

With equal majesty, the mighty Chiefs 
That raised the triumphs of immortal Rome, 
Pass on th' admiring mind; there shines the land, 
Whose warriors, zealous of their country's good, 
Bled in her cause, exulting in her fame. 
For Justice ruled at home, when slowly rose 
The great Republic, that subdued the World 
From Albion, to Euphrates' willowed banks, 
Or barren Scythia, to the winding coast 
Of Northern Afric ; and the nations swayed, 
Not, as in later years, by bigot-laws 
Of gloomy priests, who moved the passive Earth, 
By engines fixed upon another world ; 
But dauntless courage, and the noblest arts 
Of policy, till all-corrupting gold 
Withered the laurels of imperial Rome, 
A prey to tyrants, luxury, and Pride ! 
Then o'er the weakened states, the barbarous tribes 
Swarmed in fierce millions from the frozen North, 
And built the kingdoms of remoter days 



221 

On Rome's declining grandeur, and o'erwhelmed 
The last great empire of the sons of man. 

There Gallia spreads her rich and fragrant vales, 
And purple vines ; there Nature's loveliest charms 
Adorned the fertile realm, and called aloud 
For peace, but called in vain : successive kings 
Her sceptre held with glory, but their Sun 
Was veiled in darkness, when rebellion seized 
The best of their illustrious line, and stained 
Their blushing country with a Monarch's blood. 
Accursed, and cruel deed ! ignoble feet 
Trampled the sacred lily ; base-born hands 
Despoiled the flowers of fair nobility, 
And bade them fade in distant climes, and droop 
In anguish, and in exile : soon the land, 
Fatigued with factions, anarchy and war, 
Obeyed the prosperous Islander, that grasped 
Th' unsteady helm, the last dread .scourge of Earth! 
His was the midnight murder, his the smile 



222 

Of unrelenting, jealous cruelty ; 

His was the iron heart, the tearless eye 

That mocked the miseries himself had caused. 

When panting for the sovereignty of Earth, 

He forced th' unwilling orphan to the field 

Of death, in German, or in Scythian plains. 

Impious in wickedness, and proudly wrong, 

He rent the veil of Justice, and disdained 

To gloss his tyrannies with specious names, 

But poured his legions on Hesperia's shore ; 

She, trembling at his power, implored the aid 

Of Britain, bulwark of the groaning world ! 

Nor sought in vain ; thy brave and generous arm, 

Great friend of liberty ! was stretched to save 

Th' oppressed ; thy chieftains conquered ; and thy flag 

Terrific waved, and drove th' oppressors back 

With shame and ignominy : till the land, 

Safe from the storm that threatened to destroy 

The stately vessel of its ancient realm ; 

Safe from the terrors of the danger, breathed 



223 

In freedom ; rescued from the menaced joke. 

Now had six thousand years rolled on, and brought 
The full completion of the Prophecies, 
The consummation of the word of God. 
Long had th' Apostasy of later years, 
The power of Roman Antichrist, usurped 
Obedience from the Universal Church, 
But fell at the appointed hour of wrath, 
When with its lightnings, and its thunders, burst 
The oft predicted Earthquake, and o'erwhelmed 
Her splendid Palaces, her towers of strength 
And grandeur ; the fair Crescent that despised 
The humbled cross was levelled, and the shrine 
Of false Mohammed ; mighty was the strife, 
And shaking of the nations, that had drunk 
Deep of the cup of error, and had shared 
In all her luxury ; destined to partake 
The curse of Vengeance for unpardoned crimes. 



224 

Then the anticipated season dawned 
Of God's Millennium ; then his Scriptures spread 
O'er every land ; the powerful and the rude 
Obeyed his voice ; and the wide Earth broke forth 
In singing, bending on its knee to God. 
The desert bloomed again, the tall fir hailed 
The fragrant myrtle, and rejoicing sang 
His glory ; in the wilderness was found 
A Highway joyous for the Gentiles' King, 
Where pools the parching ground refreshed, and springs 
The thirsty land ; there, Zion's pilgrims drank 
Redeemed, and happy ; there, with hymns of praise 
And everlasting mercy on their heads, 
Ascribe all honor to their Parent God. 

Then as the Earth converted, and renewed, 
Appeared one solemn temple for its Lord, 
Then the lost tribes of Israel were recalled, 
And mourning bowed to Him the Crucified, 
The great Redeemer of their scattered race ; 



225 

In purity of spirit, and faith, they turned , 
For in their grateful hearts, refined, and changed, 
Their Monarch reigned triumphant, and matured 
The fertile olive of the Jewish Church : 
Then from all shores recovered, Israel sought 
Judea's clime ; upon the mountain tops 
Of Canaan ruled ; adorned their wasted lands ; 
Planted their vine in peace ; on Calvary raised 
Their Temple, and restored its ancient state 
Of wealth and splendor to their Saviour God. 
The ministering Angels of this happy soil 
Returned, commissioned from the King of Heaven ; 
No more decreed to weep the ruined towers 
Of Salem's fallen majesty and pride. 
'Twas, then, descending from on High, were seen 
The Seraph armies in the solar way, 
To turn the Earth's great axle, till the Sun 
Beamed, with the lustre of perpetual Spring, 
Full on the renovated plains ; and smiled 
Upon the second Eden of mankind. 
A rm. 2 F 



226 

Bloomed in its former Paradise, the flower 

Of golden Amaranth ; the gentle winds 

Hurled the dread tempest from their stormy wings 

No more, but breathed around refreshing gales 

To cheer the tranquil Climates, and delight 

The mortal race, that, guarded by the sword 

Of mightiest Cherubim, adored in peace. 

Hell saw with agony its earthly prey 

Exalted to th' unutterable joy, 

And happiness, that God bestowed on Man, 

When true Religion blest his holy lot, 

And fled with all his legions from the world 

Despairing : high among these glittering stars 

We parted, as the Monarch of the air 

Commanded ; some to tend the solar way, 

If once perchance the Angelic band might cease 

Their watchful care, some to the globes around, 

To tempt in vain their habitants to sin. 

While Satan, with his chosen millions, scanned 

The coast of Armageddon, soaring now 



The mighty concave that enfolds the stars, 
And now its vast recesses, there to plan 
The dread encounter of our warrior hosts. 
One day, as time is to the spirits above, 
He wandered, till yon rolling globe had moved 
In thousand revolutions round its Lord ; 
Returning to his followers when the hour 
Of Judgment stamped the destiny of Man, 
To guide our counsels in the World beneath. 

But greater tokens of their Father's love 
Were poured on all the Ransomed ; now began 
The primal resurrection of the Just, 
When perfect spirits from the state unseen, 
That knew their Saviour, ere in human form 
He trod the Earth, rose from their opening graves, 
Appearing to the Universal Church ; 
The Saints' communion of departed souls! 
Ascended first, the Parent of mankind ; 
Abram the Father of believers camr 



228 

With him, that from the floating ark surveyed 
The deluged lands ; the death-delivered form 
Of Enoch, and ten thousand honored names 
Of prophets and of patriarchs that rejoiced 
To see the prophecies complete, and Man 
Exulting in the grand Sabbatic year. 
Above the rest, their venerated thrones 
The apostles of Messiah reared, and judged 
The tribes of Israel in their holy land, 
United with the sages, priests, and Kings, 
The burning, shining lights of former days ! 
With these, the martyrs that embraced the stake 
For Christ, and his Religion : all who smiled 
In torture, as the fire consumed their limbs, 
Glad, by well grounded firmness to declare 
The faith to all th' opposers of their God, 
In wonder gazing on their heaven-born zeal : 
Nor distant far from these, the sacred crowd 
Appeared, of every witness that defied 
The treacherous influence of corrupting Rome. 



229 

Nor less illustrious rose on Britain's soil, 
Th' heroic sufferers in the noble cause 
Of England's pure and honorable Church ; 
Great to the last, for her endured the flame, 
God their support, and Truth their only shield : 
Forth from the mansions of departed souls 
Their spirits came ; rejoicing to behold 
The Church for which they bled, existing still 
In this Millennian purity — its Priests, 
Clothed with salvation, led the shouting tribes, 
Delighting in his glory, to the high, 
The common altar of their Saviour God. 
As the fair rainbow in the Evening clouds, 
Reflects upon the eye, the mingled rays 
Of gold and purple from the setting sun : 
So, the full splendor of th' eternal day 
Beamed on the spotless millions of mankind, 
While one communion of the people bound 
Th' assembled congregations of the Just, 
And quelled the fierce divisions, that usurped 



230 

The peaceful worship of their bounteous Lord. 

To every clime the favored race returned 
With gratitude, and voice of melody : 
Fruitful of love to God, and good to Man, 
Forever rescued from its grave of Sin, 
The tree of Knowledge and of Life revived — 
Struck deep, and covered with its goodly boughs 
The plenteous land, fed with the dews of Heaven. 
The sainted Mother clasped her long-lost babe, 
With tears of holy rapture, and confessed, 
The troubles of the path, that weaned her soul 
From Earth, and raised her drooping thoughts to God, 
Were wisely ordered ; merciful the pang, 
Though keen, and bitter, when her dying child 
Breathed on her panting breast its sad farewell ; 
Now happy to renew the Parent's love, 
And join its songs of innocence and praise. 
Here pure and early friendship bloomed again' 
In all its youthful vigor ; m> vain pride, 



231 

No envious coldness, severed the true friends, 
Or broke that sacred intercourse of soul, 
The vulgar, proud, and selfish never knew. 
Alive to nobler, and severer ties, 
The hero parted from his mistress' smile, 
To brave the battle and the storm ; to bleed, 
And turn in agonizing death his thoughts, 
Where fond affection wept its earnest prayer 
For safety ; summoned from the distant heap 
Of undistinguished thousands, joyed again 
To hear the gentle whisper, that awoke 
The golden flame of constancy and love. 
The aged Parent o'er his pious child 
Rejoiced ; the social charities of life, 
Graced by Religion's holy virtue, lived 
To die no more for ever : the warm glow 
Of Patriotism florished unreproved ; 
No parties thrust their factious leaders on 
To clash with Kings ; no tyrant Kings usurped 
The iron rod, and reigned, as Terror bade, 



Despised, oppressive, hated. Senates held 
The stedfast balance of impartial law, 
Beloved by Kings, and honored by the crowd. 
And pure Religion reigned in every state, 
Blessing all ranks with righteousness and joy 
With sacred virtue, and one spotless faith. 

One thousand years of peace preserved mankind 
From evil ; when remoter nations rose, 
Where through her willowy banks Euphrates sweeps 
Its tide, inflamed with envy gainst the saints 
Of high Jerusalem, to oppress the tribes 
Of Israel, resting in their Father's home. 
In vain the Heathen rose, their rage was vain ; 
The sovereign Monarch of the heavens surveyed 
Their puny might, and cast his lightnings forth 
Among their proud encampments, to destroy 
The powers of Gog, and Magog ; till consumed 
Their countless bodies strew th' astonished Earth. 
Then was the resurrection of mankind ; 



23 



«> 



And all past ages, from the tomb of Earth, 

Before their Maker stood ; soared through the stars, 

And, on the plain of Armageddon, heard 

Their sentence ; some, to share the heaven we lost, 

Some, on the Teraphim's expanded wings, 

To feel the horrors of the world of woe. 

Such was the being Man : now, be it ours 

To close the wondrous scene ; f obey the Chief 

That bade our arm destroy the rolling globe ; 

To seek the burning comet, and direct 

The flaming ruin to the solar way. 

Then may we meet our Lord, proclaim our deeds 

Among th J assembled legions of our host, 

And breathe new courage in their fainting souls." 

" Strange is the tale," said Ithream, as the Chief 
Paused in th' eventful history of mankind ; 
"And time demands that we fulfil the word 
And spread confusion through these ranks of stars. 
Yet, ere we leave the pendent Sun, attend, 

Arm. 2G 



934 

With patient ear, to this my last request : 
When Powers of Hell in Council met, I heard 
A Kingdom's name repeated bj the Lords 
Of our stern Monarchy ; whose righteous sway 
In later years was known ; oft in thy tale 
Of nations known no more, well-pleased, I marked 
The various seats of nations, as they turned 
In dim array before my ardent gaze ; 
And, deeply pondering, longed to view the land 
For strength, and majesty, and fame, and wealth, 
Alike renowned above the states of earth, 
Whose swelling seas, and continents, have passed, 
Until again the wide Atlantic breaks 
Upon the sight. Oh ! where is Britain's land, 
What spacious country, what extensive shore, 
What mighty Continent did Britain hold, 
That every realm, or kingdom of mankind 
Rejoiced, or trembled, as her hosts appeared, 
And each vast region of the cultured globe 
Confessed her power ? Columbia's Western soil, 



235 

The richest jewel of the gorgeous crown, 
Torn from her Empire by its sons alone. 
By her, the tribes of Asia were enriched 
With Truth's pure lustre ; Afric's desert wastes, 
Freed by her arm from Slavery's galling yoke, 
Drank the full stream of Liberty, and hailed 
Oppression's firmest foes ; e'en Europe's plains, 
By her protected from the tyrant's grasp, 
Obeyed the great restorer of Mankind ! 
Where then her high dominion, where the tract 
Of Britain's noble, and exalted realm ?" 

"Nor Walls, nor Towers, nor large extent of clime, 
Nor endless wealth," (the ethereal Prince replied,) 
" Nor countless cities, spangling the gay Land 
And glittering with the tribute of the world, 
Raised to its dazzling height proud Albion's name. 
'Twas Man, and Man alone ! her generous sons, 
Rich in their virtuous Pride that loved the state, 
Where equal laws with equal influence bound 



236 

The Monarch's purpose, and the People's will, 

And Liberty, immortal Liberty, 

Shared the high throne of Justice and of Law : 

These formed their country's grandeur : these alone 

Reared the fair column of Britannia's fame, 

Parent of dauntless, virtuous, free-born men ! 

Glance on the distant North thy careful eye, 

Where Europe's ample plains extend, and trace 

The lengthening coast ; there parted from the shores. 

Obscurely visible, the narrow speck 

Arises to th' inquiring gaze, and shines 

The brilliant gem of Ocean. Hail ! blest Isle ! 

Sweet home of Freedom ! whose unconquered land, 

Obedient to its sovereign's mandate, poured 

Its warrior thousands forth ; elate to meet 

Their ceaseless foes, and bend their haughty heads 

The willing victims of a glorious death, 

With proud remembrance of their Fathers fired. 

The soul of Honor in thy nobles breathed ; 

That held the stable balance of the law, 



257 
When the mad torrent of the people's rage 
Oppressed the sacred barrier ; rich and great, 
Thy sons exulted in thy envied fame. 
Thine aged patriots, virtuous, wise, and good ; 
Thy youth surpassing praise ; thy daughters fair, 
As morning's earliest blush that paints the East, 
Pure as the light, and perfect as the hand 
Of nature framed the loveliest of the flowers 
Of roseate spring ; possessed of every charm, 
And all the magic graces that compelled 
The sway of beauty o'er adoring Man. 

And many a race of Kings on Albion's throne 
Successive ruled ; till Brunswick's royal line 
The golden sceptre waved, and blessed the realm 
With Monarchs, virtuous, merciful, and just, 
The united People's unrepented choice, 
The subject's friend, the guardian of the Laws, 
Of peaceful Science, and celestial Truth ! 
With no rash schemes of conquest to enlarge 



238 

Thy tranquil realm, that free, and happy, knew 
The hand that nursed the state, and loved its Kings* 

Nor be thy name forgotten in the tale 
Of man, delightful Erin ! be it thine 
To share the triumphs of thy sister isle. 
How proudly dost thou spurn the Western surge, 
Fair emerald of the deep ! whose courteous sons 
Alone were worth} 7 of thy smiling plains, 
The garden of the World ! but vain my praise, 
To tell the glories of th 5 united lands, 
That bowing to one God, one King, partook 
Of public happiness, and private Peace. 
Sweet Isles, farewell ! see, where th' Atlantic spreads 
His burnished waves, and hides them from the view, 
And nought but Ocean beams. Isles of the blest ! Farewell/ 



END OF BOOK THE SIXTH. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



1500k t&e ©etient&. 



Argument. 

Destruction of the Solar system. 
Brahma and Ithream, leaving (he Sun, discover Death, hovering in the 
shadow of the deserted Earth — their conference — they proceed to 
the Polar star— from whence Brahma hurls a Comet from its or- 
bit, guiding it among the attraction of surrounding stars to the 
solar system — Saturn is drawn to the Comet— Venus falls into 
the Sun— Earth is moved from its axis, and deluged with fire — 
the Moon torn away— The Georgian Star remains untouched — the 
Comet, still directed by the Demons, is plunged from the solar 
system among the stars— in the mean time, the two armies ap- 
proach Armageddon— the leaders of the angelic army — their 
march — they stop at the place where Man was judged — the u in\ 
of Satan rises from the opposite quarter. 
Arm. g If 



^rmagettoon. 



And now they leave the orient sun, and rise 
Above the circling Planets ; till the eye 
Of Brahma marked the fiery comet move 
Around the polar star, his arm should plunge 
Among the clear Cerulean, to disturb 
The solar way : high o'er the Earth they flew, 
And saw the long black shadow throw its night 
Of empty darkness through the depths of air, 
Veiling, sad last eclipse, the silver moon. 
There gazing as they stood, before their sight 



244 

A glimmering vision floats ; and pallid fear 
And silent horror seize their daring frames, 
Recoiling from the dull, and loathsome shape, 
That unknown dread inspired : shade of a shade, 
Confused and indistinct, the phantom seemed, 
Mantled in moving clouds ; a hovering mist, 
Now on the deep it rested, now on high 
It soared, and cast a nameless terror round. 
As some proud bark that holds its gallant way 
At midnight, strikes upon some barren rock \ 
And checks with furling sail her wary course : 
So o'er the shadow of the rolling Earth 
The mystic gloom arrests them ; the rich Sun 
Poured the full splendor of his golden ray 
Upon th' impassive darkness, that absorbed 
The living glory of his perfect beams ; 
Nor was the light reflected, nor the vast 
And black profound illumined : 'twas the throne 
Of Death ; that hopeless of his future prey 
Waited the fall of Nature : now he sees 



245 

The rebel Lords, and, swifter than the wing 
Of angels, rose above their bending heads, 
In solemn stillness waving his dark clouds, 
Ambitious in his fierce despair to enclose 
TV immortal Chieftains in the net of fate : 
They, spurning the dread King, remained unhurt, 
Though racked with fear of undiscovered ill, 
Till Brahma, shrinking from the Phantom, spake. 

"Away ! Away ! foul Monster ! vain thy power, 
To whelm the beings of celestial birth : 
Go ! hurl thy dart through Nature, quench the light 
That flows from every sun, till Chaos raise 
A Temple, worthy of its horrid God, 
Th' abode of Night, and Silence ! Earth was thine, 
With our great king to hold divided sway ; 
Then why thy sceptre grasp ; why spread thy gloom 
O'er us, who breathed among the gales of Heaven, 
Ere thou thy wild and shapeless bulk assum'dst? 
In vain thy fearful dart aspires to quell 



946 

Our pride of youth, and majesty of soul, 

And change us to Corruption's sickening dross; 

Still dost thou threaten, and on spirits frown ? 

Hence ! hence to Hell ! the myriads of mankind 

Call with loud groans upon thy dreadful name ! 

Go ! lull their torments in oblivion's sleep, 

And close their anguish in eternal night ! 

Go ! add new pangs to the infernal world, 

There shew thy form : give the Damned hope of rest 

In black annihilation, then depart 

To prove their miseries may still increase ! 

Oh ! why this awful silence ? hence ! away ! 

Thy look appals me, though of heavenly birth." 

" Oh God ! oh God !" in voice of agony, 
The phantom spake, " Death's sovereign reign is o'er !" 

" Why call on him who spurns thee, and with joy 
Views the last struggles of relentless Death ! 
Come ! where the Monarch of the realms of fire 



247 

Shall lead his dauntless Millions to the field, 
Where Man, and all the sinless beirigs heard 
Their final doom ; there shall we tame the might 
Of heaven's angelic legions, and resign 
Their vanquished ranks to thee ; oh ! then, rejoice ! 
Again, th' insatiate hunger of the grave 
Shall feast on nobler prey, and Satan yield 
The shuddering thousands to thy cold embrace." 

" Satan I know ;" the shade again returned : 
" But who are ye, that boast of elder birth ? 
Long ere the tribes of angels rose to light, 
And hymned their primal songs of grateful praise 
For being ; ere the world of stars usurped 
The reign of night, or Chaos veiled the flames 
Of Hell's dread regions from th* ethereal host : 
Then elder-born of Justice, Death began 
His infant empire o'er th' unmeasured gulph 
Of fire, the Sovereign of the burning deep ! 
Cursed be the hour these living globes dispersed 



248 

The darkness of th' abyss, and decked the sky ; 

Else might this horror-breathing form have claimed 

The Universe of God, save where yon heaven 

Shines in th' immediate presence of its King ! 

Then Man was made ; and Sin prepared my way, 

And raised on Earth in solemn state my throne : 

Hated by all, as memory of the past, 

Or fear of future vengeance shook the soul 

Of weak and guilty mortals ; there I waved 

My sceptre dart, there bade Life's ruthless foes 

Drag the unwilling victims to my shrine ; 

Infirm old age, and ghastly pestilence, 

With murderous war, and famine pale, that smiled 

To see the Mother raven on her babe, 

And drink her tears of blood : Intemperance came, 

Death's honored friend, great parent of disease, 

With gay prosperity, and adverse ill, 

And the long train of passions ; hopeless love, 

Sorrow, and anger, and corroding care, 

Led to my countless doors the tribes of Earth, 



249 

That yielding to the common sentence, quit, 
With equal grief, the cottage, and the crown, 
Beauty, or youth, their joys, their hopes, their fears, 
And all the miseries, all the pride of wealth ; 
And naked enter on the dull cold grave, 
Where pleasures, jealousies, nor useless sighs 
Of mourning friends, nor empty plans of vice, 
Or vain repentance, to the hour deferred, 
When suffering Nature loathes the toils of sin. 
Nor storm, nor earthquake, rocking the still bed, 
Could rouse the slumberers ; till th' Archangel's voice 
Destroyed my temple, withered all my power, 
And bade the tomb resign her sleeping prey. 
Ye are immortal too, though doomed to groan 
In torment : then farewell, thou rolling globe ! 
And all the pomp and grandeur of mankind ! 
Still hold thy tranquil course among the worlds 
Of God, though black oblivion sway thy towers, 
And Death no longer rule : oh ! Earth, farewell !" 

Arm, 2 I 



250 

" Where wilt thou hide thy dark, and monstrous form IT 
The fiend exclaimed ; " Hell's adamantine gates 
Could not contain thee : Heaven, th' abode of life, 
Shall spurn the threat'ning Fury that would whelm 
The blest possessors of eternal day 
In night and anguish ; and the desert Earth, 
Devoid of lordly Man, can please no more. 
Where wilt thou roam ? oh hear, grim tyrant, hear ! 
Nature shall still be thine, nor vain despair 
Of future empire pain thee : where yon star 
Flings its pure lustre through the dark blue sky, 
The fiery comet moves, our daring arm 
From its proud monarchy shall hurl, and plunge 
The burning mass around th' unconscious sun, 
To crush th' opposing planets, and begin 
The general desolation of the world. 
E'en now our Chieftain, on the rock-strewn plain 
Of Armageddon, leads his faithful ranks 
To second combat, worthy of their birth. 
And if our arm can spoil these beauteous fields, 



251 

While angels weep in vain, then may the powers, 
Too Ions; our comrades in the lake of fire, 
Soar to th' eternal throne ; possess the heights 
Of heaven, and share the boundless Universe : 
Then, then, again shalt thou triumphant wave 
Thine ebon wand : Come ! where the battle waits 
Thine awful presence, join the bands of Hell ! 
Evil alone gives the true sting to death." 

" Shall I resume my reign," (the Phantom cried)" 
" And is there hope of victory for the tribes 
Of Demons o'er the spotless sons of light ? 
No ! on the beings of th* Almighty's will 
I feast no more : all are immortal now, 
Free from the fear of Death, the fear of Sin, 
With God their Father, happy in the bliss 
His presence gives : oh let material things 
Confess my sway, and swift destruction spread 
O'er smiling Nature ! Satan, I am thine ! 
Mine be the falling stars, the darkened suns, 



The hour when great Creation trembling feels 
The fierce convulsion of her conquered realms. 
And sees her shattered spheres one shapeless mass 
Of mingled elements : there, there shall Death, 
Pleased with the shadow of destruction, range, 
For ever ; glutted with the wreck of Worlds." 

He spake : nor longer their proud hearts delay 
Creation's ruin ; upwards soaring high 
Where, in its spacious orb, the polar star 
Controlled its wheeling planets : far, beneath 
Their rising forms, the radiant sun appeared. 
And splendid shone the wonders of the God 
That bade the gay profusion of the stars 
Adorn the sacred temple of the sky. 
Soon at the polar height the Demons rest, 
Admiring as the Comet's solid ball 
Rose fearfully among the troubled depths 
Of Nature ; and with dread volcanoes burnt 
In endless noise, scattering their ceaseless showers 



253 

Of smoke, in torrents of destructive wrath : 

A lucid atmosphere of dazzling flame 

Circled its vast magnificence, and spread 

In streams of glory ; while th' expanded train 

Shot through the clear empyrean, and illumed 

The mighty deserts of the azure waste, 

A floating ocean of eternal fire, 

The pendant banner of the coming war ! 

Far on the burning floods, the stately orb 

Cast its long shadow, as the fiends approached 

Nearer and nearer still ; and louder burst 

The echoing thunders of its fire-fraught hills, 

Impetuous breaking on the tortured ear ; 

Till rolling onward, to th' extrcmest skirt 

Of its extended sphere, with slower flight 

It paused ; and trembled on the wastes profound. 

Where is thine arm, Jehovah ? mightiest God ! 
"Where sleeps thy thunder, that its angry bolt 
Shall spare the rebel Demons r they, inspired 



c 25& 

With hatred of thy majesty, begin 

At once their proud impiety ; though wild 

Their glaring eyeballs to thy throne of day 

Are turned in horror, lest the lightning-flash 

Wither their daring forms, subdue their might, 

And hurl their mangled atoms through the depths 

Of rescued Nature, ere their fainting strength 

Could speak the desolating word, and dash 

The adverse Comet, unopposed, through heaven. 

Thy vengeance slept! — "Strike! strike!" the faltering voice 

Of Brahma cried ; the spear of Ithream flew ; 

And from the Polar orb, the starting globe 

Sunk ; and, amid the realms of ether fell, 

Pursued and guided by the Demon's skill, 

Among the attraction of surrounding stars, 

That, acting on its wandering flight, compelled 

Its dubious way, hither, and thither, drawn 

With rapid sweep along the desert space : , 

Sublimely riding on the yielding waves 

Of air, revolving in gigantic spires* 



255 

Fierce as a ruthless fiend, scattering its flames, 

Quivering in changing curves, the wondrous mass 

Terrific moved, till the descending Chief 

.Again beheld the planets that begirt 

Our fount of light ; again his arm he raised, 

Brandished the length of adamantine spear, 

Smote his destroyer-prey, that quick recoiled 

Beneath the mighty blow, as, glancing down, 

It darted swiftly to the solar path, 

And ploughed the azure of our lower sky. 

Oh thou ! that, wheeling thy resplendent course, 
Among the stars of heaven, rejoicing roll'st 
Thy beams of glory from thine orient car 
On every planet revelling in thy rays, 
Far o'er thine ample realms, refulgent Sun ! 
On thee descends the coming storm ; to whelm 
The shrinking globes, that, joyous in thy reign, 
Drink the pure splendor of thy sacred light, 
And, bending round thee, with tremendous voice 



256 

Call on their mighty Monarch to defend 
Their pale and menaced spheres : in vain they call ! 
Plunged through thy vast dominion, onward roars 
The threatening Comet, rending the blue tracts 
With hideous rout, and ruin-breathing noise ; 
Where grandly steering his majestic bulk, 
Along the distant empire of thine orb, 
The frozen weight of Saturn throws around 
The clear and wintry waste his fearful gloom : 
There the wild spoiler rushes ; there its flames 
Far-quivering dart upon the Planet's shade, 
Disperse the night, and fire the dreary space 
Of the cold desert, where no genial heat 
Had wandered. Hark ! the ruin has begun 
Of Nature : nearer still the Stranger came, 
Where in its ancient sphere dim Saturn moved, 
And tore the Planet from thy sheltering sway \ 
Arrested in its course, awhile it paused 
In vast vibrations, mourning to forsake 
Thee, its great sovereign ! then, with sudden flight, 
■ 






257 

Deserts his wonted path, with all his moons 
Adorned, and parted ring, that glimmering rose 
Above its fair horizon, through the fields 
Of Ether rushing ; while th' astonished sky 
Beholds in nameless desolation fall 
The crumbling, broken, yielding, melting mass 
Of Saturn's elements, till in the air 
The troubled, the enormous bodies meet 
Encountering, and with dread attraction close. 
Then shall the system to its centre shake ; 
Death gaze exulting ; and the vengeful Fiends 
Shout their malignant joy : as the chill snows 
Of Saturn's thawless wastes, the mingled wreck 
Of all its beauties, and its shattered ring 
Plunge on the fierce volcanos, and obscure 
With momentary veil their mountain-flames, 
Swelling, impatient of restraint, to rise 
With brighter glow, victorious o'er their prey. 

So the first tempest that convulsed the calm 

Arm. 2 K 



258 

And tranquil region of the solar path 
Began : and still with ceaseless fury raved 
Among th' empyreal climes, where mighty Jove 
Far distant, swam in safety, though the Power 
Raised up the girdling oceans that embrace 
His stately realm, and seem to mortal eyes 
As belts of light : th' accumulated snows, 
Covering, for many an age, the Poles of Mars* 
Reflecting to the Earth their deepened ray, 
Dissolved in torrents, as the burning heat 
Passed in its restless and consuming flight. 
Fair shone the morning star, the lovely orb 
Of Venus ! joyous, as her orient Lord 
Shed his first beam of glory, and illumed 
The beauteous Crescent, as the waving sword 
Of desolation, blazing through the sky, 
Drew near, and hailed the Planet; that compelled 
By Nature's ruling mandate, heard the call 
Of her great Monarch's rival, as it swept 
With rapid bend along th'etherial deeps ; 






259 

And nearer to the sun approaching, cast 
Its fatal influence o J er his circling globes. 
One fearful moment towards the Comet's bulk 
The Planet flies ; but to its King returned, 
As nearer to his throne th' Usurper came, 
And sought its sovereign, resting in his strength ; 
Delighting as the youthful bride to meet 

4 

Her lover's arms, and smile her tears away. 

Still to thy throne inclining, brightest Sun ! 
The threatening flame descended, and beheld 
Thy parting light involve the fading state 
Of Venus, sheltered in her best retreat ; 
Then, swifter through the firmament of heaven 
Moved round thy frame ; and onward sped its way, 
Where still secure, within its ample orb, 
The peaceful Earth, and her attendant moon, 
Held their proud course harmonious ; raising still 
The hymn of praise to their Creator Lord, 
Though every string of vast Creation's lyre 



260 

Discordant grated, as the huge machine 
Shook the long regions of the dark blue space. 

Fair the last harvest-nioon serenely poured 
Her brilliant light o'er the unclouded sky, 
Unconscious the rich Sun should yield no more 
The borrowed splendor of his silver ray. 
Oft on that orb the rustic Lover's gaze 
Was fixed, as joyous to his " low-roofed cot," 
With songs of peace and innocence, he trod 
The well-reaped fields, and pictured future scenes 
Of happiness ; beguiling the long way 
With vows of truth, and tales of ceaseless love. 
To that resplendent light the sober eye 
Of Age was turned ; as with the village youth 
In rude and rural mirth, his children wove 
The figured dance at autumn's tranquil eve : 
Mindful of earlier days, his pensive thoughts 
In wild conjecture wandered to the world 
Above ; and breathed his prayer in that blest state 



261 

Of being, at some distant hour to know, 

And to embrace his children : now no more 

Shall Nature's votaries watch the Moon's pale beam, 

Where through the drooping willow's hanging boughs, 

It gently trembles on the sleeping tide, 

While the proud swan floats graceful on the stream. 

Whose countless dimples smile no more to hear 

The boatman's song, and dash of tuneful oars, 

Responsive to his voice, that softly breaks 

The soul-enchanting stillness of the night. 

Man has forsaken Earth ! or he had seen, 

Vast as the sun, and furious as its strength 

Of streaming fire, the unsparing Comet rase 

His globe ; melt the dissolving elements, 

And rain upon its burning fields thick showers 

Of lurid flame, as the tremendous mass 

Approached the peaceful Sovereign of the Night, 

Majestic riding through the cloudless sky : 

Forth from the fierce volcanos of her orb 

The thunder rolled, and from its mountains flash 






262 

The lightnings through the azure, as the train 
Of desolation sweeps the solar way : 
Hark ! from thy primal path, the mighty Power, 
With voice resistless, calls thee through the deep, 
Resplendent Moon ! still by the golden sun 
Illumined, moving on thy silent poles 
Amid the wreck of Nature : thou hast heard 
The stern command, and, from thy broken sphere, 
Obedient though reluctant, through the air, 
Drawn by subduing force, thou wanderest on ; 
Till, dashed upon its surface, the glad Fiends 
Behold thee a fair island in that sea 
Of fire ; and, slowly swallowed in the flame, 
Consume, and fade, among the molten waves. 

Advancing still, the Comet raged, and reached 
The extremest boundary of the sun's great course, 
Nor ceased its progress there : again the Fiends 
Launch the wide-blazing pillar through the stars, 
Scattering destruction round ; as heedless chance 



263 

Directs its fury, till the fixed decree 
Of God the ruin of the sky complete, 
And groaning Nature meet its final doom. 

Exulting Death brandished his spectre dart, 
And shrieked aloud ; " the World, the World, is mine ! 
Death shall for ever reign ! Why droop ye, stars ? 
Why tremble in your orbs, ye golden spheres ? 
Why pause your mystic dances, as ye pierce 
The spangled mansions of th J encircling heavens ? 
Soon shall ye plunge upon the central globe^ 
And Armageddon's wild and wondrous plain, 
The dark dominion of eternal night, 
Enclose your fragments in its dread embrace !'• 

So shall the empire of our radiant Sua 
Fall from its height of glory, and begin 
The general dissolution : then, unmoved, 
The Georgian Star shall hold his eoUrte sublime*, 
Amid the havoc of surrounding worlds ; 



264 

As that great Monarchy, that gave its name* 
Shall stand, uninjured, till the end of time, 
Great in the ruins of the states of Earth, 
Of Nations overthrown, and Kings deposed ! 

Meanwhile the last faint echo of the song 
Of Jediel died upon the listening ear 
Of Saints and Angels : wondering had they heard, 
How sprang from God alone the Heaven, and Hell, 
And Chaos, with the world of rolling stars. 
And all the tribes of Man ; Himself alone 
Eternal. Now, obedient to their Chiefs, 
The shining ranks of Seraphim prepare 
For second war : another sacred morn 
Dawned on their beauteous orders, as they bent 
Before their Lord ; for holy forms demand 
Oft time the pause of action, and repose, 
Beneath the smile of their transcendent King: 
And such the days of Heaven, when all unveiled 
The throne of glory casts its joyous light 






265 

Unutterable, and all the sons of God, 

Filled with celestial zeal, exult in life ; 

But when the clouds of darkness hide the rays 

Of splendor, then similitude of Night 

Obscures the mansions of eternal bliss. 

And, now, the long-expected hour approached 

When in the presence of assembled Man, 

Th' unearthly combat of superior Powers 

Shall shake the Universe of God, and chill 

Their souls with horror, though Messiah's love 

Shall guard them in the fierce and deadly strife : 

Fresh in renewed strength, the fivefold ranks 

Of heavenly beings bow before their Lord ; 

Archangels, Angels, Hierarchs, and the host 

Of Cherubim and Seraphim appeared, 

Distinct their banners, and their arms : first shone, 

High towering, where the hierarch legions throng, 

TV immortal form of Ithiel ; he whose skill 

The watery Comet guided to the Earth, 

What time the primal thousands of mankind 

Arm. 2 L 



Forsook their sovereign Monarch ; now, with hope, 

And ardent confidence of youth elate, 

Rich in the panoply of heaven, he roused 

The clustering ranks, and hailed the coming war. 

Next came th' Archangel leader that prepared 

Messiah's path through the blue tract of air, 

When from the barriers of the opening grave 

He soared, ascending to his Father's throne 

Of Mercy; Ezbon raised the sounding note 

Of welcome, as the portals of the sky 

Received the attendant myriads ; now he waves 

His vengeful spear as the fierce serpents rolled 

Their spiry volumes round their warrior prince, 

Serenely fearless, moving to the plain 

Of contest : him the great and watchful Chief 

Ithuriel followed, leader of the bands 

Of glorious Cherubim ; whose guardian care 

Exalted to th' eternal World the form 

Of deathless Enoch, when his Father God 

His spotless soul approved, ere yet the Flood 



267 

O'erwhelmed the Earth ; his too the flaming, car, 
And steeds of fire, that Israel's prophet bore 
In storm and whirlwind, through the parting air. 
And next, the Seraph Asiel, that inspired 
The faithful Martyr at the stake of death, 
Soothed the repentant soul, or hovering near 
The peaceful couch of dying Innocence, 
Impressed a promise of its future bliss : 
The gentlest spirit of the perfect state : 
Firm, loyal, zealous, in th' Almighty's cause, 
He rushed to war ; and, swift at his right hand, 
Was seen the dread Chephirah, that inflicts 
The wasteful pestilence o'er the groaning Earth, 
And saw unmoved the gulph of horror clasp 
The rebel demons, banished from their God ! 
Prepared for enterprize they come : ourselves 
That war shall see : ourselves the clash of anus 
Shall hear ; as onward to the impious host, 
Great in their majesty of power, ride forth 
The angel warriors of the World above, 



s 



268 

To meet the enemies of God, and plant 

Their sheltering squadrons to protect Mankind. 

And, now, returning from the distant scenes, 
Where all the Heathen shall await the day 
Of purer knowledge, happiness and rest, 
Was heard the voice of Raphael through the deep 
Of Armageddon, speeding his swift way : 
He marked th' approaching Fiends, and heard their oath : 
" God of the Universe !" the Chief exclaimed, 
(As, bending low at the Messiah's throne, 
He ceased his rapid flight) " they come ! they come ! 
Threatening the heaven of heavens, and breathing war." 

Aloud the united Angels shout their vow— 
" Here we devote our strength, our life to Thee, 
Great source of all, Creator, Father, God! 
Here by the past remembrance of thy love, 
By thee, and by Jehovah's dreadful name, 
By all the hopes of heaven's enduring bliss, 



269 

We swear to brave the battle's nameless rage, 
To whelm the Demons, bind their horrid forms, 
And hurl their legions to the World of woe." 

They said ; to them Messiah — " Virtue's cause 
Shall triumph; and the arm 'of God protect 
His chosen Angels in the fatal hour, 
When Death and Hell, aspiring, threat the skies. 
Then ask not, why my father will permit 
The sons of evil to assault the good, 
To raise their flaming crest among the stars, 
And climb the heaven of heavens to seek their God, 
Tempting Omnipotence ? He reads their souls, 
And shall confound Rebellion's maddest pride, 
When Victory smiles with promise of repose : 
Sin must complete its progress, ere the bolt 
Of Vengeance fall on its devoted head : 
Wrath must be treasured for the day of Wrath : 
The heart be hardened, and the sinner spurn 
The God of glory, and his offered grace ; 



The roaring floods must lift their waves on high ? 



Ere God arise, gird on his burning sword, 

And, terrible in anger, walk abroad, 

Scattering the arrows of resistless Death, 

To bow the everlasting hills of Pride. 

High in the treasury of eternal wrath 

The cup of vengeance stands ; the wine is red, 

Prepared for Satan, and th' apostate crew 

To drink the bitterest dregs ; yet shall they soar 

Successful, till their course of guilt be run ; 

Then shall my Father vindicate his law, 

Then shall the veil be drawn, that hid the ways 

Unfathomed of controlling Providence 

From men and angels, and the great designs 

Of equal Justice brighten on the view, 

Though prosperous guilt one moment shall prevail 

O'er Virtue ! trust him, where you cannot trace 

Th' immortal Parent ! Trust him, when the clouds 

Of Night and Mystery obscure his will ; 

Remembering that the prize, unmade by hands, '■ ■ 



271 

Awaits his faithful followers in the World 
Above ; their distant, but their sure reward !** 

So spake the great Messiah ! on they move 
Their glittering squadrons in embodied files, 
Of thrones, and Powers, and Monarchies ; and leave 
The light reflected from the walls of heaven 
To pierce the undistinguishable storms, 
And climb the shattered fragments of the rocks 
Disorganised, incalculable, immense, 
The empire of old Chaos ; and illume 
With their own glorious radiance the dark caves 
Of Armageddon, till the Judgment-seat 
Of Man appear : among the splendid ranks 
Of Hierarchs, and of Cherubim, the saints 
On golden clouds are borne ; not yet ordained 
To wear their crowns, till the last prize be won, 
Till Death be lost in Victory, and the Fiend 
Bound in our sight, be judged ; and God alone 
Rule the great Universe, the Lord of All ! 



• • 



272 

Bright on their dazzling lines, the glory flowed 
Forth from Messiah's burning throne, and shone 
Among the floating ruins of the wild, 
The nameless desolation ; as they rise 
O'er many an unimaginable mass 
Of formless adamant ; through Ocean's vast 
Of waters, roaring in the endless gloom, 
That, madly breaking on the restless shores, 
Lash the rough soil in vain : through flaming seas 
Of fire they plunge, that, rending the long waste, 
Burst from their mighty prison ; on they passed 
Among th' unearthly regions, and upbore 
Each on his towering majesty the weight 
Of Atlas ; oft the mingling storms divide 
The firm battalions : there the blazing crest 
Of Griffons, blended with the orbs of fire, 
Around the Hierarchs waving ; there the cars 
Of light, on some impenetrable rock, 
Paused ; till the onward legions plough their way 
Through the long empire, as the dreadful void 



2^3 

Permitted ; and th' united orders move 
Undaunted, undishonored, undisturbed : 
Strangely the waste re-echoed to their steps 
Throughout its hollow caverns ; strange the sound 
Of spears protruded, clashing swords, and shields f 
Shouts of loud praise, and clamors for the fight : 
The deep and solemn silence stranger still, 
As first th' eventful Judgment-seat arose 
To view ; the destined theatre of Avar, 
Where angels wait the coming of the foe. 

Then from the darkness of the tract, remote, 
And desolate, where, from the sight of heaven, 
The damned were exiled to the world of woe, 
The fiends ascend ; as rays of living light, 
That brighter beamed, and, with resistless glow, 
Spread o'er the regions multitudinous 
Th' expanded lustre of ten thousand suns : 
Scattering the ambient darkness, high they tower 
In all their rich refulgence on the plain, 

Arm. 2 M 



274 

Unnumbered, splendid ; radiant, as the stars 

With all th' embroidered firmament of heaven ; 

The silver moon, the meteors, and the train 

Of wandering planets to th' astonished eye 

Appear, of one recovered from the night 

Of blindness ; and, in silent glory break 

Upon the breathless gazer : so shall rise 

The Demon army on this dreadful daj% 

And burst upon the wondering view of Man, 

While the plain trembles, and the Universe 

Shakes through its realms of distance infinite. 

Above th' inferior tribes, the Chieftains shone, 

As burning cities in the abode of war, 

At midnight, blaze among the lesser fires, 

That guard the dead on the contested field, 

When, on their blood-red arms, the weary troops 

Half-slumbering, rest, and watch th' approach of dawn. 



END OF BOOK THE SEVENTH. 



ARMAGEDDON. 



IBoofe the <£igbtb> 



argument, 

Ithream and Brahma return from the destruction of Earth to Arma- 
geddon, and are hailed by the demon army — Brahma gives an 
account of the burning of the Earth — the Pacific Ocean dried up 
— the appearance of its exhausted bed — desolation of South Amer- 
ica—the isthmus of Panama rent asunder — destruction of North 
America — the Polar ice isles — the continent of Asia, the Pyramids, 
and Africa— the Greek islands, and Greece— Rome destroyed by 
tire from heaven, before the Conflagration approached it— Europe 
desolated— England sinks into the Ocean, which flows over it — 
the fire consumes the whole scene— the surface of the Earth is 
melted into one general mass, and becomes a shoreless ocean of 
molten glass. 



280 

And mark the demon-banners fill the plain, 

Bright as the stare that gild, the throne of Night, 

From the high zenith to th' horizon's brow : 

While Discord waves with joy her vulture-wings, 

Proud of her victims, as the angel-band 

In heavenly panoply prepare for fight. 

Shall distance part them longer ? lo ! the} T pause : 

For, rising from the confines of the world 

Of day beneath them, two resplendent forms 

Between th' opposing ranks appear, and move 

Where, as a column on some range of Alps, 

Above his noblest hierarchs, towered the height 

Of him, the rebel Chieftain ; there they bend 

Their way victorious, and the sons of God 

In wonder heard th 5 anticipating sounds 

Of triumph, as the Fiends beheld their Friends 

Ithream and Brahma, from the Earth returned 

And Earth's destruction. " Welcome home!" they cry, 

" All hail the dread Destroyers ! hail the Chiefs, 

Uninjured by th' Eternal's vengeful bolt ! 



281 

Now shall we soar above the heaven of heavens, 

And flight and fear, spite of Messiah's arm, 

Whelm our proud foes : Oh ! welcome, welcome home."- 

They silently before their Monarch rest, 

Who, bowing from his regal darkness, shook 

The pageant lightnings of his meteor-crest, 

And thus, amidst the shrouding terrors, spake. 

" Great be thy name, immortal Warrior, great 
Thine high reward ! whose strength resistless plunged 
The sword of fiery ruin through the stars ; 
While yonder sovereign of Infinity 
Thy desolating hand restrained not ! calmed 
His rolling thunder, and delayed his wrath ; 
Now shall stern Destiny her reign resume, 
Hurl the usurping Godhead from his height 
Of glory, and exalt th' united sons 
Of hell's dark regions to the conquered heavens : 
Tell how the laws of Nature are repealed ; 
Tell, how the order of yon scene of things, 

Aim. 2 N 



282 

The grandeur, and the beauty, that declared 

One all-controlling Mind, is known no more? 

Then shall the partners of our toil incline 

The wondrous tale to hear, and angel-hosts, 

That guarded once the masses of the stars, 

Shall tremble, lest their great Creator fail 

To shield their squadrons, when our force shall sweep 

Their adverse millions from the field of war, 

Lost in the vast destruction of the skies, 

The ruins of their Father's Universe/' 

Then shall the parted spirits of mankind, 
And all the tribes of beings that exist 
In space ; assembled on th' illumined plain 
Of Armageddon, fearful silence keep ; 
When Brahma, slowly rising in the midst, 
Shall thus the burning of our Earth narrate. 

" Obedient to thy high command, my king, 
Among the gathered worlds, the mighty deed 



283 

Of Earth's destruction, and the general wreck 

Of Nature (though my shuddering soul recoil 

In sad remembrance of the fearful scene) 

I will begin. The morning sun had risen 

And tipped the woods, and streaked the skies with gold : 

Beneath in tranquil majesty, th' expanse 

Of ocean spread, and o'er its peaceful deeps, 

Unseen, unpiloted, the fleets of man 

Obeyed the changing tides ; the mighty hills, 

And everlasting mountains, their proud heads 

Raised to the final dawn, with domes, and spires, 

That marked the fading empires of the world, 

Seated among their cultured wastes, as kings 

Without their train of suppliants ; the still flocks, 

Untended, waiting for the herdsman's call, 

Roved through the cities unrestrained ; and owls 

Shrieked in their vacant palaces a wild 

And doleful requiem o'er departed Man ! 

Richly the gilded minarets, and shrines, 

Spangled th' unpeopled countries, and appeared 



284 

As gems that graced the victim of our power. 
All hail ! fair morn ! we cry, all hail, the beam, 
Our noble spoil adorning! thou shalt fall, 
Resplendent as thou art, all-glorious Earth ! 
Then, soaring through the azure, our stern arm 
Tore the resounding Comet from its Lord ; 
Hurled through the skies, till on the solar way 
It plunged with fury ; nourishing its flame 
With Earth's pale moon, and Saturn's solid ball. 
Oh ! how we gazed, exulting from our height 
To view the giant, with unsparing rage, 
Heave, with unconquerable might, the globe, 
With all its mountains, woods, and vales : o'erturn 
Its trembling axle with th' unwilling Poles, 
And rolling onwards, from its surface, shower 
A fearful column of consuming flame, 
Extending o'er the troubled atmosphere, 
And pouring o'er the groves, and trembling fields 
Its living torrents ; Earthquakes shook the ground, 
Rent from their firm foundations the dark rocks, 



285 

The broken pillars of the shattered Earth, 
Casting their fragments through the melting air : 
Fierce o'er the burning land, the swelling main, 
Seeking its new Equator, whelmed the states, 
The vanity, and grandeur, hopes, and pride, 
And all the crumblino- monuments of Man. 

O 

Deluge, and conflagration, hand in hand, 

Swept o'er the desolated regions, scourged 

The ravaged climates, levelled every hill, 

Quenching the remnant of inferior life : 

And thickest clouds of rising smoke concealed, 

In mournful darkness, the red stream of wrath ; 

Save where the skirting lightnings pierced the gloom, 

And edged th' expanded firmament of fire, 

As dreadfully, beneath, the thunder poured 

Its last sad echoes through the flame, the groans 

Of dying Nature for a falling world ! 

Fierce, o'er the broad Pacific, rushed the storm 
Of Fate : and covering the black surface, quelled 



% 



286 

The tortured floods and gathering waves that rose 

To contest with th' inexorable blaze ; 

Protectors of the failing globe ! and foamed 

With whitening billows, o'er their ample bed ; 

Or, murmuring, in their fury, hurled their deep 

Indignant torrents to th' insatiate foe, 

That madly, through the roaring waters, ploughed 

His fiery progress o'eri;he boiling tide ; 

Pursued his rapid flight, scattering around 

The moving horrors of its mighty rage, 

Fierce as Ambition, raving in success ! 

Till conquered, faint, exhausted, the wide sea 

Shrunk to its inmost channel; and consumed, 

Resigned the sceptre of his ancient sway. 

Then, to each side extending, the dread flame 

Sped to Columbia's coast, and Asia's plains ; 

And, following its proud course, the clouds dispersed . 

The opposing waves were banished from their seat, 

And every pile of massy rock revealed, 

As, from the storm the burthened air was freed, 



287 

And light returning, with astonished ray 
Played on the hoar recesses of the deep, 
Its undiscovered springs and desert wastes ! 

Above the dark foundations of the main, 
Glittered the coral palaces, th' abode 
Of countless insects, strewed in varying curves 
Of white, and purest purple : once the base 
Of islands, spangling the Pacific realms 
With golden foliage, and the sweets of spring, 
When once their mighty Monarch tranquil rolled 
His sheltering waves along their flowery mounds : 
Now of his power bereft, confused, and torn, 
Or scattered o'er the broken rocks, they fall, 
The first dread trophy of the spoiler fire ! 
With these the tottering relics, and the domes 
Of Earth's primeval kings, and mouldering towers, 
Erected ere the flood of waters whelmed 
The pristine globe ! beneath the restless surge 
Concealed, forgotten, undisturbed they lay, 






288 

Till in this second deluge, our glad eye 

Dwelt on their broken structures, and rejoiced 

To trace the remnants of the former world, 

Destroyed by Powers of evil : as the wreck 

Declared aloud the madness of mankind, 

A vain, ambitious, pleasure-seeking race, 

Slaves to the folly of the passing hour ! 

The branching forests of the lowest deep, 

Clothed the black rocks beneath them, where no beam 

Of the light-giving Sun, or midnight Moon 

Had pierced th* unfathomed caverns, or disturbed 

Their vast inhabitants : no voice of Man 

Had echoed through the desolate abyss ; 

Though many a wreck, and many a drowning corpse 

Descending through the green, and stormy flood, 

With death-fixed eye, unconscious of its grave, 

Glared wildly on the large Leviathan ; 

That wondering gazed upon the human form, 

As slowly stalking o'er the humid soil 

He moved ; half reasoning of the distant land 



289 

Whence came his ghastly, and mysterious prey. 
Convulsed and agonized, the writhing frames 
Of Ocean's giant and expiring Lords 
Lay panting on the ashes of the groves, 
And seek in vain a refuge in the dens 
And hollow antres of th' exhausted depths : 
Prone on the smoking ooze, their dying tongues 
They dart ; and, turning to the Sun's bright orb, 
Rest on his unknown glories, while his light 
Suspended Death's unutterable pang. 
The mighty Sea-snake his procumbent length 
In tortured volumes twined : the long-lost wealth, 
Deep buried in the bosom of the tide, 
By avarice' iron heact through life deplored. 
Shone through the wide destruction of the deep, 
As gems that sparkle o'er their owner's bier ; 
And shattered fleets, forsaken by mankind, 
Hurl their consuming fragments through the air, 
Lighting the general ruin with their flame, 
Dim torches pointing to a new-made grave. 

Arm. 2 O 



290 

Swift to Columbia's southern solitudes 
The flame impetuous rushed : soft smiled her fields, 
And gay her empires, rising to renown, 
When the Archangel summoned to the skies 
The living, and the dead ; perpetual green 
Clothed the luxuriant land, with odorous shrubs 
And flowering woodbine varied : while the rills, 
In tranquil melody meandering, flowed 
Among th/ o'erhanging woods, and perfumed groves, 
Waving their beauties in the final day. 
The colored Mangrove painted the pure stream, 
Whose glassy face unruffled by the breeze, 
Reflected in its calm and winding course 
The distant mountains, tipt with evening gold. 
Fair as the primal garden of Mankind, 
Harmonious, and diversified, the scene, 
Enriched with sheltering hills, and bosomed vales, 
Adorned its parent Earth ; the crested birds 
Displayed their chequered plumage to the Sun, 
And tuned with rapture their last song of praise* 



291 

Responsive to the dying gale, the fall 

Of murmuring waters, and the rustling trees. 

How wert thou changed, sweet land ! when o'er thee roved. 
With inextinguishable rage, the fire, 
Devouring the green seas of yielding grass, 
Where the Savannahs of old Sitzan spread. 
As some loved infant to the murderer's hand 
Turns with unconscious innocence, and smiles 
In Death ; so perished in the withering blast 
The grateful honors of thy blooming soil, 
The lonely woods of dark Assuay's plain, 
The time-worn grandeur of the ancient kings 
Of rich Peru ; with crumbling monuments 
Of fading empires, ere th' Iberian crossed 
The Western wave, and heard, unpitying heard, 
The curse of millions slaughtered for their gold. 
And Chota fell consumed amid the flames, 
Pouring its liquid treasure through the groves 
Of Orange ; while the parched and fragrant shrubs 



292 

Lent their wild perfume to the burning air- 

The lengthening vallies of Saragur viewed 

The sudden havoc of the heights above, 

In thunder plunging on its deepened gulphs ; 

Mingling with branching cedars, rocks, and floods* 

And clustering fruits, with flowers, and arching trees 

Beneath whose shining foliage slept the forms 

Of mighty serpents, coiling in despair 

Round their vast trunks, and gasping life away. 

High o'er the forests of sequestered oak ? 
Shading the Tequendama's fertile stream; 
O'er Llano's barren deserts, and the top 
Of Antisana, hurling its bright showers 
Of darting lava from its burning hills. 
Crowned through the circling year with endless snows, 
The towering Condor sprang among the fields 
Of ether ; wondering as the new-felt heat 
Ascended through th* horizon, and dispersed 
Then during winter of his dreary tracts : 



293 

Poised on undaunted pinion in the air 

He hung sublime ; and marked th' increasing flame 

Resistless climbing his aerial throne ; 

Till the lost lustre of his eagle eye, 

And fainter motion of his daring wing, 

Proclaim his struggling agonies ; a king 

Deposed, and dying in his native realm. 

The pathless height of Chimborazo fell ! 
Methought the Spiril of the Andes frowned 
Above th' uninjured snows, and spake aloud : 
" Whence from the red wave rising, speeds the Fiend . 
That melts the groaning land, and bears away 
The scenes of Nature to their common grave ? 
Say, shall the lofty fabric of these mounds 
Bow to the rash assailant, and resign 
The stormy sceptre of its cold domain, 
Where rudest winter unmolested holds 
The untrodden mansions of eternal ice, 
Unthawed by torrid suns, that vainly dart 






Their mid-day glory round ? Rest, ye pure snows ! 

Rest, in unsullied majesty ! nor fear 

Th' entombing devastation that ascends, 

Ambitious to enslave these boundless wastes. 

Long has the thunder of th' Almighty rolled 

Around your stedfast base ; the lightnings played 

O'er the primeval rocks, alike unmoved 

By earthquake, or by storm ; rest in your strength, 

Ye adamantine hills ! by God's right hand 

Embedded in the solid Earthy to shield 

The globe from ruin, till its Maker's voice 

Fill with new habitants th' unpeopled plains ; 

The shrubs, the fragrant cedars at my feet 

May burn ; the forests wither in the wreck, 

And wearied Nature perish in the war; 

Still shall my throne amid the storm survive, 

The Andes still their ancient state retain, 

Th' unconquered guardian of a helpless world!" 

Vain was the boast ; invincibly the fire 

Rushed onwards, smote upon the melting snows. 






295 

Shook every nodding precipice, and rent 

The opening structures of the crashing rocks 

In wider caverns for its ruthless course ; 

Till the long range of mountains, in the storm 

O'erwhelmed, united with the levelled pride 

Of vales, and woods beneath ; and swelling streams 

Of lava cleft the desolated steeps 

Of Andes, severed from the clouds of heaven, 

Defaced, and shattered in the common mass. 

With equal might intruding to the North, 
Above the golden islands of the West, 
Spread the dread Comet's fury ; and released 
The captive Earthquakes from their long abode 
In the dark prison of the womb of Earth, 
To break their mountain fetters, and to rend 
Th' extended barrier of the rival seas, , 
That share the empire of the Ocean's bed ; 
Till in their baneful rage, with thundering sound 
The lengthening isthmus of Panama broke, 



296 

And wildly rushed th' Atlantic's foaming tide 

Through the rude chasm, upon the smoking depths 

Of the consumed Pacific, summoning 

To momentary life the dying shoals 

Of monsters clinging to the parching ground. 

O'er many a fertile isle, and cultured tract 

Of fair Columbia, the fierce Spoiler roved, 

Changing the plenteous bosom of the land, 

Its cliffs and pastures, to a desert waste. 

The spacious lakes reflected the red light, 

As slow ascending the horizon's brow, 

It fired the heavens with splendor, and illumed 

With fatal glory the rich scene below, 

Where in the blooming clime, gay Nature reigned 

In all her loveliest majesty of shade, 

In undisturbed dominion, sweetly clad 

With every chequered brilliancy of vale, 

And shadowy grandeur of. aspiring hills, 

And lakes, and forests, nobler than adorned 

The distant continents of Western Iand& 



<297 

How deep ! how clear ! the flowing rivers sped 

Their wandering course, between th' embroidered banks ; 

Burthened with thousand tributary streams. 

Moved their calm current through the silent woods, 

Till to the curving precipice approached, 

The concentrated tide in thunder falls, 

Foams through the whitening breadth from side to side, 

And rushes down the steep declivit}', 

Dashed in the depths beneath ; the hoarse abyss, 

Swoln with the column of intruding waves, 

Resounds through Niagara's solitudes : 

Fallen in their pride, in vernal beauty fallen ! 

The wasted cataracts, and the pillaged lakes, 

Threw from their shrinking beds the coiling wreaths 

Of smoke, and, darkening the wide firmament, 

Obscure the desolation as it passed 

Above, and swept the lovely clime, compelled 

To share the common ruin of the Earth. 

The pause was fearful, as the outrageous flame, 
Arm'. I P 



298 

Loud roaring, burst upon the frozen North* 
Impatient to assert its power, and break 
The cheerless barrier of the wintry Pole. 
Long in the iron realm unbroken rose 
The cold magnificence of air-built domes. 
Of towers, and castles, and pellucid spires* 
By fancy pictured to the sea-boy's gaze,. 
Irradiant, glittering in the midnight sun. 
Scattering the sterile rocks, and isles of ice, 
Round their dissolving piles the fire revolved* 
Wound in tempestuous hurricane, and rent 
The crashing snows that guard and gird the Pole :. 
Clasped in its stern embrace, the riven mounds 
Sink to their deep foundations, and confess 
The might resistless of the encountering Foe. 
The Gentian withered in its native isle ; 
And all the icy mountains of the North 
Disperse, and where th' eternal frost had swayed. 
Th* usurping heat its torrid reign began. 



299 

Nor think my story tedious, though Mankind 
Their home had left ; how joyous had I seen 
The cares, the toils, the pleasures, and the fears 
Of Man ; the ceaseless round of human things, 
Of love, and peace, and enmity, and hate, 
The states' convulsions, and the private ills 
Of life, suspended by the ruthless Fiend, 
Razing the groaning cities from the lands, 
As leaves that perish in the reaper's flame. 
How joyous had I seen the pallid tribes 
Fly from the wreck of Nature ; seen the gay, 
The young, the generous, whose delighted hearts 
Smiled at Life's nectared banquet, undisturbed 
And heedless of the future ; dumb with fear, 
And motionless With sudden horror, die. 
Kings on their thrones, encircled by their train 
Of Nobles, and the majesty of courts 
Had fallen, with senates in the grave debate ; 
The warrior army, and the crowded Mart, 
The Parent, and the Child, the Friend, and Foe, 



. 



300 

At once confounded in the common storm ; 

Their sorrows, and their joys, their hopes, and fears, 

For ever fled ; themselves the victims laid 

Upon the smoking altar that our might 

Erected to the sovereign Prince of air ! 

No shelter had they found amid the storm : 

No rock had listened to their useless cries ; 

No lonely cave protected from the blast 

The suppliant agony of wild despair. 

In vain, the wretched millions had invoked, 

With piteous shrieks, each nodding precipice : 

The hills had vanished from their seat ; the plains 

Repelled the groaning fugitives, to turn. 

In bitterest anguish, where old Ocean spreads 

His burning waves, beneath the flood to seek 

A momentary respite, and a grave. 

There had they viewed the channels of the deep 

Consumed ; and hearkened as the seaman's scream 

Rose from the shattered fleets,, in broken tones, 

The last sa$ sigh of suffering, and of Death, 



301 

Shall Earth afford no refuge ? lo ! the heavens 
Themselves had melted with the fervent heat ! 
Denouncing from the reddening firmament 
The consummation of their Misery. 
Enough ! the fiercer agonies of Man, 
Our eyes have witnessed in the gloomy depths 
Of everlasting pain, and hopeless woe. 

Serenely beautiful, the perfumed isles 
Of Asia smiled upon her Eastern coast, 
And seemed as anxious children to entreat 
For pity on their parent-continent, 
When, howling o'er their spicy vales, the flood 
Of world-involving storm their mantling cliffs 
Uprooted from their rending base, and whelmed 
Their fragrant ruins in the pathless waste , 
And still, unwearied in destruction, drained 
The Seres' marshy pools, and golden realm-* 
Of India ; the defenceless treasury 
Of Earth, the placid unresisting prey 



302 

Of every sordid conqueror that sighed 

For pomp and riches ! oh, how well avenged 

Thy sufferings, and thy wrongs, time-honored land 

Of Brahma ! when thy jewels, and thy wealth, 

Reduced thy proud oppressors, and overthrew 

Love, loyalty, and honor, freedom, truth, 

And virtuous pride, the pillars of a state ! 

Shamed by pale luxury from their modest home t 

While pampered victims to the thirst of wealth, 

Weak, worthless, and luxurious, the rich prey 

Of watchful rivals, and of poorer foes, 

Slain for thy gold, thy tyrant spoilers fell. 

The shrubs of fair Columbo's sacred ground, 

And Buddha's temples perished in the blast, 

With Brahma's holy island ; where no plough 

Profaned the pure, the consecrated soil : 

Swift o'er the plains where first proud Science reared 

Her soul-enlightening beacon, to dispel 

The night of mind, the tawny lion strode, 

Mad with increasing heat, and sought the banks 



303 

Of Ganges ; where the Elephant, and Pard, 
With equal fury to the stream compelled, 
In wonder marked the monsters of the tide, 
Forsaken by preserving Vishnou's might : 
The serpents writhe among the harbouring shrubs, 
Parched by the distant influence, ere the flame 
Hurled its vast columns o'er the afflicted land, 
While sultry winds the last remains of life 
Destroyed. And Imaus, girdle of the Earth, 
And Cashmire's oval vale, Gedrosia's plains. 
With Persia's liquid Naphtha, the first home 
Of Man, and either Araby, the Walls 
Of ancient Caucasus, whose arching rocks 
Alike the Caspian and the Euxine bound, 
The cedar groves of lordly Lebanon, 
And faded glories of the chosen land, 
Where Israel held his empire, till the sword 
Fled from his fainting grasp, when Judah spurned 
The true Messiah of their prophet bards, 
In one destruction perished. The dark wav< 



304 

That hid for many an age the mouldering towers 
Of Sodom, and the partners of its guilt, 
Revealed awhile their desolated pride ; 
Till the revolving whirlwind tore again 
Their ruined ruins from tb' Asphaltite lake. 
And morn, and eve, and night, and day, were lost, 
As in the lawless ocean of fierce flame, 
The violated charms of Asia fell. 

Oh ! let me tell how downward to the South 
Of Afric's torrid sands it spread ! how Nile 
O'erflowed its fertile banks, to guard the plains 
Of Egypt from th' inexorable foe ! 
Proud in the sea of fire, the mighty tombs 
Of Ancient Monarchs, the majestic state 
Of sculptured pyramids, the costly pomp 
Of futile pride, and ro}'al vanity, 
Point their tall summits to the burthened sky > 
Long through the reddening blaze their darkling heights 
Ascend ; a fiercer Pestilence assailed 



305 

Their lofty piles, than whirlwinds of the sands, 
Borne from the deserts, or the purple breath 
Of Simoom : steadfast, in the quenchless blaze 
Unmoved awhile they stood ; at length, subdued, 
Dissolving in the fire, their time-worn frames 
Disperse, and mingle with the nameless wreck 
Of Afric's winding shores, and unknown wastes. 

O'er Europe, now, th' ungoverned cloud of fire 
Tremendous hovered ; drank the tideless sea, 
That dashed on either Continent ; and smote 
Byzantium, on whose crumbling battlements 
The grass waved mournful in th' uncertain breeze, 
That lowly murmuring through the towers proclaimed, 
That all within was still and desolate. 
Parnassus' mount, and Delphi's broken shrine ; 
With Dirce's springs, and Tempe's lovely vale, 
And all the honored climes of ancient Greece ; 
Thyme-clad Hymettus, and the golden stream 
Of rich Peneus, Elis' holy soil, 

Arm. 1 Q 



306 

The stern Laconia, and the perfumed groves 

Of polished Athens, lost to earlier fame ! 

With these, the sea-girt islands of the South ; 

The gems of Greece ! the marble-loving hills 

Of Paros ; Naxos, with its blushing vines, 

With olive-yielding Samos, and the rocks 

Of Andros ; Chios, fairest of the isles ! 

Luxuriant Cyprus, and the lonely steep 

Of craggy Salamis, together sunk, 

The prostrate spoil of the destroyer Fire ; 

By bards no longer sung, by Patriots mourned ! 

There, as we gazed upon the burning floods, 
And watched the mountains, and the seas consume ; 
In tones of rising thunder, through the deep, 
A more than angel-voice aloud was heard : 
* Vain is thy joy, proud Fiend !' it seemed to say, 
' And short thy victory o'er the world of God ! 
Not to thine arm the ruin be ascribed 
Of Nature ; to that just and holy Power 



307 

Alone, that from his fair Creation blots 

Yon seat of evil, and endues thine arm 

With strength, his righteous mandate to fulfil, 

And execute his Justice ; while he dooms 

To one dread sentence, thee the source of crime, 

And Earth, the helpless victim of thy might ! 

Read in the fading climates of yon globe 

Thy fate, the common fate of all thine host. 

E'en now the nameless and eternal wrath 

Is nigh, and Retribution claims her prey. 

Still shall thy weak presumption spurn the voice 

That bids thee tremble ? Mark th' unerring sign 

Of vengeance ! high, upon her seven-fold hills, 

Proud Rome majestic, and uninjured stands : 

Lo ! ere the Comet's threatening flame assails 

Her grandeur, Babylon the great shall fall ! 

From heaven descends the living fire, to raze 

The fabric of her pride, to vindicate 

The wisdom and the power of God, and speak 

Thy guilt, thy weakness, and thy future doom !' 



308 

Slow through the deep the echo died away, 
And listening, in suspense, we gaze around, 
But view no form material ; God was there ! 
To read our hearts, to register our deeds, 
But checked his thunder, and we triumph here. 
Swiftly the menaced vengeance from on high 
Began ; and circling the polluted towers, 
Wondrous, the Comet's rival wrath repelled ; 
That first resisted in its lordly course, 
Still thirsting for destruction, roving on, 
Hurled its red waves, unmingling with the fire 
Of heaven, in fury o'er the states around. 

Cleft by the parching heat, the furrowed ground 
Was dry : the forests, and the mountains, flame 
O'er Europe's lesser states : the vine-clad hills 
Of Gallia saw the summit of the Alps 
Shake off their liquid snows. Sarmatia fell : 
And Scandinavia, through her realms of frost, 
Summoned her rigid Monarchy, to quell 



309 

The Victor of her rocks, and frozen plains ; 
Where shrubs, nor waving groves their foliage spread, 
Nor stern-eyed Eagle o'er their rugged heights 
Ascended ; while upon the sullen base, 
The sounding waters broke in endless roar. 
Thence the fierce Plunderer of Earth pursued 
His desolating progress, till the Pole 
Beheld his solitary wastes destroyed. 

Then, when pale Nature o'er its ruin wept : 
When the dread eye of Omnipresence viewed 
Serene, the terrors of the final day : 
When yon proud system through its mighty frame 
Was shaken, and the solid Earth consumed : 
Then, only then, uprooted, and subdued, 
The home of Nations, Liberty, and Peace ; 
The mighty Island, whose majestic front 
Opposed th' embattled AVorld, and ruled the deep ; 
Earth's best and perfect state, the smiling land 
Of Beauty, Truth, and Honor, England fell ! 



310 

The sun had set on the delightful isle, 
And total darkness spread its mantling depths, 
Unpierced, unbroken bj the silver Moon, 
That, blended with the Comet's bulk, increased 
The ruin of the Earth her peerless light 
Illumined once ; when o'er the sea-girt coast, 
Enraged, and thirsting for new prey, the flame 
Scattering its vivid lightnings through the gloom, 
Imparted to our eye a farewell glance 
Of sculptured fanes, of science, and the Muse, 
And domes and grandeur of her merchant Sons, 
Throwing the dark impression of their forms, 
On the unruffled streams : the transient scene, 
Of all that once was honored, and revered, 
One moment only to our view arose ; 
For, suddenly, the roaring Earthquake shook 
The firm foundations of the chalky soil, 
That, vibrating beneath the giant force, 
Merged in the burning Ocean : the fierce waves, 
No more the dread Protectors of her shores, 






oil 

Rush o'er the desolated plains, now doomed, 

Exhausted by th' unsparing fire above, 

To share the ruin of the vanquished Earth! 

As some pale veteran in the fields of war, 

Died for his much-loved Chief, but died in vain : 

So rose the tides of the consuming deep, 

Fair England ! to defend thy lovely clime, 

But clasp in vain thy regions ; for the hour 

Of fated dissolution whelmed alike 

The guardian Ocean, and the sinking Isle ! 

And still, unwearied in its maddening flight, 

Swift o'er th' Atlantic's bed the Despot Hew, 

Till on the ashes of Columbia's states 

It paused, and gloried in the wreck of Earth. 

Trembling, we gaze at what our hand had wrought, 
And, flying upwards to our Monarch's throne, 
1 Farewell!' we cry, ' how is thy beauty fallen ! 
Thy Climates, and thy Countries, Land, and Sea, 
With all their honors desolate, and lost ! 



312 

No plough shall furrow thee ! no wandering bark 
Traverse thy ravaged Oceans ! Hill and Vale 
Resign no more their treasures to Mankind, 
But smoke and ashes cover thee ; alike 
The Morning and the Evening rise on thee ! 
And the bright stars, with the resplendent sun, 
Shall paint thy firmament, but shine in vain- 
The seasons weep around thee ! Time no more 
Shall see thy beauties bursting from the waste 
Of liquid flame, to hail a new-born race 
Of beings ; Monarchs of the home renewed 
Of Man, that thoughtless of a former age, 
Shall trace the remnant of a burning World, 
In wonder at its long-forgotten tribes. 
Farewell, the works of Man ! farewell, the domes 
That hoped Eternity ! the immortal songs 
Of Bards, that honored and adorned the Earth ! 
Farewell ! the page of science ! all that Pride, 
And mad Ambition coveted ; the wreck 
Of human things ! Oh ! had the sacred book 



313 

Of God's eternal Truth been human too, 
Itself had mingled in the mighty flame : 
But what his finger wrote, his word inspired, 
Shall never perish, graven on the hearts 
Of all that venerate their Father-God ! 

" So closed our great commission : now we leave 
The solar path, among th' unpeopled stars, 
To wing our solitary way, and rise 
To Armageddon's War : but once, once more, 
While yet its desolated Mass was seen, 
Down to the burning globe our anxious eye 
We turn : around a solemn stillness reigned ; 
Darting from every side an angry light, 
The red ball glimmered in the troubled air : 
The smoke had rolled away, the Earthquakes ceased : 
And o'er th' exhausted Ocean, o'er the vales, 
And mountains, o'er the sunk and ruined pride 
Of gay Creation, and the pomp of Man, 
A shoreless, waveless sea of molten glass 

Arm. ' lv 



Q. 



14 



Moved its unruffled tide, the tomb of Earth ! 
No sound amid the awful calm was heard, 
Save when the Comet in its wandering flight 
Smote on some distant world, and Nature spake, 
In dull and sullen murmurs through the deep, 
Indignant resignation to her fate." 



END OF BOOK THE EIGHTH. 



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